From Russia withWhat?
by sureshot199
Summary: ATF-It's been a little over a year, and Ezra is starting to finally feel comfortable in Denver and as a member of Team 7. When a young woman and her brother show up, he deals with the taunting of team. When things begin to get serious though, the woman's past with the KGB put everything Ezra cares about in danger.
1. Chapter 1

Ezra closed the door of his locker slowly to avoid any unnecessary movement of his body. His jersey, stick and skates were visible through the grates on the metal door.

"See you at work tomorrow Ez," JD called over shoulder as he walked out of the locker room.

Ezra tried to wave in a farewell gesture, but the action brought a sharp sting though his right shoulder. He turned his head trying not to show the pain. He should have known that the action would not go unnoticed. He felt pressure on his remaining good shoulder.

"Make sure you ice that tonight or its going to be stiff tomorrow morning," Nathan told him removing his hand.

"Is it possible to ice one's entire body?" Ezra asked with a groan.

"I swear James is going to regret this if we play his damn team again," Vin growled. "That was the cheapest shot I've ever seen. This isn't the damn NHL. It's supposed to be fun."

"I will wait patiently for the day," Ezra answered with a smile, slightly pleased to hear his friend so angry at his expense.

"You going to make it home okay?" Nathan asked seriously. "I can give you a ride."

"I will be fine as soon as I am lying in the jets of my whirlpool."

'That is one fancy, but nice bathtub,' Vin agreed.

Ezra picked up his duffle bag and headed out of the locker room. He was pulling the keys out his coat when he heard a voice call out his name. He turned to see a slightly overweight, bald middle aged man walking towards him. Ezra knew he was the manager of the ice rink, but he couldn't quite remember his name. He also remembered Chris saying that he couldn't stand the man.

"That was quite a game you and your team played out there today. Talk about leaving nothing on the ice!"

Ezra smiled at the compliment. It had been a hard fought game. It was always was when they played the team of Denver's top real estate agent. The two teams seemed to go back and forth. Sometimes Team Seven won, sometimes James and his jerks did. Today the victor happened to be Ezra and his friends.

"You realize that win puts you in third place now," the manager said.

"Really?" Ezra answered, although Chris had informed his team in the locker room.

"One more win and you will probably be in the championship," the manager said.

"Don't tell anyone, but I'm rooting for you guys to take the cup this year."

"Well, my teammates and I appreciate the sentiment," Ezra said aloud, wondering how many teams the manager had repeated the phrase too, and how many had paid for extra ice time.

"The way you guys move as a team is pretty impressive, I haven't seen…"

"I don't wish to be rude," Ezra interrupted," but I am in quite a hurry. "Is there something else you would like to discuss?"

"What? Oh yeah," the other man took a minute to catch his breath. "I have next month's schedule of games figured now. Would you like to come up and get it?"

Ezra sighed. He really didn't like the idea of having to spend any more time at the rink.

"Yes, lead the way Mr. ah, ah," Ezra stumbled. For the life of him, he couldn't remember the man's name.

"Rick Cody," the man stated. "You must have hit your head too hard on the ice today pal."

"Perhaps," Ezra answered through clenched teeth, realizing why Chris despised the man. He followed the man up the stairs to the rink offices.

Ezra was surprised to see two people waiting outside Cody's office. One of the visitors was a good looking, dark haired boy in his early teens. He stared up at Ezra with big brown eyes. Ezra had to do a double take when he saw the youth's companion. He felt his heart skip a beat. A young woman, in her late twenties, sat next to him.. Her hair color matched that of the boy's and hung loosely just below her shoulders She stood up when they entered revealing a slim body that was about two inches shorter then himself. Like the boy, she was dressed in jeans and a worn coat. It was obvious these two were not among the wealthiest of the ice rink's patrons.

He found himself staring into the greenest eyes he had ever seen. The eyes were not happy. She quickly turned her and focused them on his companion.

"Mr. Cody, I believe I scheduled an appointment with you over half an hour ago," the woman said. Her voice was calm, but her anger was obvious in her stiff body posture. Ezra noticed a slight accident in her voice, but wasn't able to place it.

"You will have to hold on Miss. I have paying members who I need to attend to first." Ezra heard the stress the man placed on the word paying and he immediately felt the hair on the back of his neck rise.

"I would be more than happy to wait for you to conduct your business with this fine young woman," Ezra answered. Both adults looked at him surprised.

"But Mr. Standish…" Cody started.

"I insist," Ezra interrupted firmly. His face stern.

"Fine," the other man growled. He turned on the woman. "But you better make it quick." She turned to look skeptically at Ezra who smiled, his gold tooth flashing.

"I will wait outside," Ezra answered, with a slight bow.

"Sasha, you wait outside too," she told the boy. She bent down and whispered something in the boy's ear. Ezra couldn't make out the actual words, but he could hear her voice.

\

Ezra looked at the boy and instantly figured out where the young woman's accent had come from. It had been much heavier when she had whispered to the boy. Sasha was a pet name given to Russian children..

The door slammed closed, leaving Ezra and the teen in the hallway. The boy looked at Ezra. Ezra placed his ear on the door, and motioned for the youth to do the same. The youth smiled and copied the man.

"Like I told you on the phone Mr. Cody, My kids don't have anywhere else to practice now that you've closed the outdoor rink," the woman pleaded, most traces of her accent gone.

"And I already told you that if you can't pay the ice time, you don't get to use the facilities," Cody said back calmly.

"You know that the parents can't afford the fees," the woman answered. "They can barely afford to feed their families."

"Hockey's an expensive sport young lady, you should have thought of that before you put your little team together."

"You can't do this," the woman voice raised an octave. "This is about the kids!"

"Your kids will have lots of disappointments in life sweetheart, but start preparing them before they end up in a jail cell…"

Ezra looked over and saw the face of the youth fall. He had heard enough. He gently pushed the kid out of the way and opened the door. He sauntered in, much to the surprise of the two occupants.

"I'm so sorry to eavesdrop," he answered sweetly, "but I couldn't help being slightly put off by the comments I have just heard." Cody's eyes narrowed.

"This is none of your business Standish."

"Forgive me, but I have an awful habit of making such abuses my problem," Ezra answered. "I also believe it would be a problem for many of the other patrons of this facility, mainly the men and women who play in your hockey leagues."

Ezra couldn't help but smile when the comment had its desired effect. Cody's livelihood depended on the dues of the rinks members, a hefty percentage of those dues came from the people who played league hockey.

"But perhaps," he continued without missing a beat, "I may conveniently forget this conversation if you would donate the rink for this young woman and her team to use."

"I'd love to help you Mr. Standish, but the rink is booked for the next month," Cody answered with a smile, pointing to the schedule. "Even if I wanted too, I couldn't fit them in. What with championships and everything coming up."

Ezra nodded his head seriously.

"Ah, this does create a dilemma doesn't it?" He pretended to think. "But have you created next month's practice schedule yet?"

"No, but…." Cody protested.

"Then I strongly suggest you slot in time for this young woman unless you want the information I just heard go public."

"Fine," Cody stated, slamming his hand down. He stopped and a sudden thought occurred to him. He looked at the woman with an evil smile. "But you can kiss playing in the youth tournaments goodbye Ms. Gordon, because the games start in two weeks. You won't have time to prepare for your first game,"

He saw her face fall.

"And you can schedule this woman and team's name on the last half an hour of my team's scheduled practice time until you can find a more permanent spot for her," Ezra answered.

Cody looked like he was going to say more, but Ezra had had enough. He gently pushed the woman out and closed the door behind him, leaving an opened mouth ice rink manager.

"My teammates and I practice on Thursday afternoons around five o clock," Ezra stated when the door was closed.

"Look Mr. as appreciative as I am of…" the young woman started to say when the boy turned to look at her.

"We get to play hockey after all?' the boy asked, excitedly. The look of pure joy on the boy's face stopped his older sister dead in her tracks.

Ezra looked at her with a knowing smile on his face.

"My name is Ellie Gordon, this is my brother Nick," she stated with a sigh. She held out her hand. He returned the handshake and noticed there was no ring.

"My name is.."

"Ezra Standish," the boy finished. Ezra gave him a surprised look.

"Ellie and I come watch you play all the time. You're a pretty good player, but I think Tanner is the best one of the team."

"Nick!" Ellie scolded, and looked apoplectically at Ezra. "I'm….

"No offense taken," he chuckled. Mr. Tanner does play with a certain flare doesn't he?" He said to the boy.

"Yeah," The teen agreed. "That last goal he scored tonight was awesome. That was really cool how he checked that other guard really hard after he hit you with the stick…."

Ezra watched the smile that crossed the woman's face and he felt his chest tighten.

"I'm sorry Mr. Standish, but it's a school night and Nick still has homework to do and…"

"But Ellie," Nick protested.

"I shall not stand in the way in the path to a quality education," Ezra stated, making an elaborate show of moving to the side, "Shall my friends and I expect you on Thursday then?"

"If you are sure….

"We've already gone through this Gordon. It is my pleasure."

"Ellie is fine," she answered. "We will see you on Thursday, Thank you , the kids and really appreciate this.

Ezra watched them go, a sudden thought came to him. He had just haphazardly given away precious ice time for his team. It had become even more valuable that they were making a run for the championship.

"_Standish, you're going soft," he told himself. "What would Maude say?" _

Then he thought of the smile had had seen on the Russian woman's face and realized that he didn't care what his mother would think.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

A few days later, Ezra walked through the office door, his bag slung over his shoulder and his cardboard coffee cup in one hand. He was surprised to see that the office was empty.

"_I'm not that late am I?" _He wondered. He set his coffee down and turned on his computer before looking up the clock. It was nine thirty. Granted he was an hour and a half later when he was technically supposed to show up, but he wasn't any later than his typical arrival time. He wondered if he had missed a memo or a phone call.

He couldn't help the nagging feeling that had begun to tighten up his chest, the feeling that he had somehow been forgotten. Common sense told him that he was just being stupid, but the feelings caused by years of neglect did not easily go away.

"Standish, get your ass in here now!" A familiar voice growled from down the hallway and in the conference room

A small smile crept to the southerner's mouth. Due to assignments and trial dates, it had been a long time since he had been in the office on a Monday morning. He had forgotten about the required briefing meetings the team had at the start of each work week.

He grabbed his coffee and began the short walk out of the bullpen. Because of his overreaction, he had failed to notice the jackets hanging over the chairs of his teammates. He scolded himself about missing such an important detail. If he had been undercover, missing something that important might have had serious consequences.

"Sit down," Chris growled as he walked into the room. "You've already missed some important shit."

Ezra looked around the room and saw straws and balls of spit covered paper on the table and several vulgar drawings on notepads, including an atomically correct game of hangman being played by Vin and Buck. He gracefully ducked out of the trajectory of a koosh ball that had been flying his way. He held up his hand and caught that

"Solving the world's problems I see," Ezra answered sarcastically, tossing the ball back to JD.

"Sorry Ezra. I was aiming for Buck!"

Ezra acknowledged the apology than sat down in his usual place between Nathan and Chris.

"Your shoulder looks like its feeling better," Nathan stated. "You're not cringing every time you move it."

"I told you that it would just take time," Ezra answered. "The painkillers and the warm water worked wonders." He instinctively reached for his pen and realized that he was the lone person at the table that did not have some form of writing utensil. He pushed his chair back and was about to get up.

"Where the hell do you think you are going now?" Chris barked at him.

"I was simply going in search of…." Ezra started to stay defensively.

"Somebody give him a damn pen and some paper."

"It would seem our esteemed leader is in dour spirits this morning," Ezra whispered into Nathan's ear He took the piece of paper Josiah offered him and caught the pen that Vin had rolled across the table.

"My thanks," he said quietly. Chris glared at him.

"Forgot how long these meetings take when Ezra's here," Buck chuckled, whispering in Vin's ear. Ezra wasn't sure if Chris heard Buck's statement or just chose to ignore it.

"Josiah, why don't you tell the others what you told me this morning?" Chris directed his attention to the older man.

.

"Vargas, the assistant DA, just called this morning. Rodriguez was killed in his cell this morning. " A chorus of curses and statements of disbelief spread across the room. Ezra felt like he was going to be sick.

Jorge Rodriguez was a drug runner for the notorious Axel Norton. Axel Norton had been on the FBI's most wanted list for several years now. He was wanted for smuggling cocaine down to the drug kingpins just south of the border. When Norton has set up shop in Denver, the FBI had asked for assistance from the ATF. Ezra had spent several weeks working the street and going undercover into Norton's ring. Ezra had gotten Norton's Mexico contact, Jorge Rodriguez, to agree to a plea bargain in exchange for a confession.

"Norton must have found a way to get to the little skunk inside the jail," Buck growled. "I knew he should have had more protection."

"That's not the worst of it," Josiah continued. "Vargas said the FBI probably has more evidence he could use against Norton, but they won't expose it for fear it would hurt their other more important cases."

"More important cases?" JD asked, his voice jumping a few octaves. "What could be more important that catching a man who has been responsible for the deaths of at least thirteen people and fueling the freaking drug war in Mexico?"

"My sentiments exactly," Ezra sighed sadly.

"Is that who you were talking to on the phone this morning?" Vin asked Chris.

"You call that talking?" JD asked. "That wasn't talking, that was…" The young agent gulped when Chris glared at him.

"But I didn't get anywhere," Chris answered.

Ezra exchanged a look with Nathan. Neither one of them were surprised. Diplomacy had never been one of their fearless leader's strong points.

"I also told them that I would think twice about risking one of my men's neck for them again if they weren't going to support us. I said that good undercover men are just too damn hard to find these days and I wasn't going to loan mine out so easily again." Chris didn't look directly at him, but Ezra could feel his gaze out of the corner of his eye.

Ezra was taken back for a second. At the beginning of his career at the ATF, Ezra had discreetly sought these statements of acceptance. He no longer felt them necessary, but reaffirmation of his worth always felt good.

Chris began handing out folders to the team.

"This is all the information we have about Norton," Chris answered. "I want you to look at every detail of the case. See if there's anything we have missed. I don't think you'll find anything, but it's worth a shot. I don't want this bastard back on the street!"

Ezra opened one of the folders and was surprised to see the piece of paper. There was information on it, but it had nothing to do with the Norton case. He opened his mouth to voice his question, but Vin got to it before he did.

"What is this?" the sharpshooter asked.

Chris looked at the piece of paper and scrunched up his eyebrows trying to figure it out.

"Oh, just some information NSA passed on to us. Take a look at it and file it in the back of your minds, but I don't think you need to be too concerned about it. I want you to focus everything on catching Norton."

Ezra glanced at the piece of paper. It contained information about a mob organization based out of Romania. The NSA had traced some of their key leaders to Denver and were just asking everyone to keep their ears open to any information they might hear on the streets. Ezra filed the information in the back of his mind. There were more important things to worry about right now.

He picked up the file containing the information on Norton and began going through every ounce of evidence the team had gathered. If there was some way to nail this bastard, he was going to find it.

Later that Day…

Ezra pushed the treadmill up to a faster speed. His legs easily made the adjustment to the faster pace. He had been running at least an hour now, but he was not getting tired like he had hoped. His pent up emotions and rage which had fueled him for the last seven miles were not being used up.

Norton had been released from prison almost two hours ago. The team had barely had time to sit down and look through the evidence when the DA called and said the he had been forced to let Norton go. It had been a major blow to the entire team. Chris had given everyone a few hours off to release their frustrations in whatever way they saw fit.

Ezra had known that he needed to get out of the office and blow off some steam. The office gym was not an enough of an escape and there was no way he was going to run outside in the January cold. Even after living in Denver for the last two years, his southern blood had not gotten used to the freezing temperatures. He had settled on the neighborhood gym closest to his house.

His eyes strayed to the silent TV playing some cable news network. He wasn't really paying attention, but it was something to aimlessly look at. His eyes strayed from the blonde reporter to the street. As his eyes lowered, a sudden movement caused Ezra to look down. Despite his fast pace, Ezra grabbed the hand that was reaching out for the treadmill.

"Owww! Damnit Ezra, you don't have to grab so damn hard!"

Ezra immediately let go of the wrist and pulled the cord that stopped the machine. He and looked to see the source of the familiar voice. Vin was grabbing hold of his wrist, clenching his teeth.

"What are you doing here?" Ezra asked, surprised to see the man.

"Chris sent me out to look for ya. The way you stormed out of the office had us a little worried," VIn answered

"How did you discover I was here," Ezra asked.

"Well I figured you probably would go somewhere to try and let off some steam. You weren't in the office gym and I sure as hell knew you wouldn't be outside. I drove to your house and started searching all the local gyms. Your Jag outside was kind of a dead giveaway."

"A wonderful deduction," Ezra answered, grabbing the towel that was draped over the handle and began to wipe off his face.

"Did it help any?" Vin asked.

"No, not really," Ezra answered with a sigh. He got off the treadmill. "I suppose I better get cleaned up and head back to work now."

"That would probably be a good idea because there's somebody at the office there to see you. Says he's with the FBI."

Vin's statement caught Ezra off guard. Thanks to his rocky history with the organization, any mention of it made his heart race. The fact that somebody was asking specifically for him made him all the more nervous.

"Why would somebody from the FBI want to talk to me?" he asked.

He looked at Vin when he received no response. His friend was looking out the window, an odd expression on his face.

"Vin, what is the….." Before Ezra knew what hit him. Vin had knocked him to the ground. The sound of shattering glass echoed in his ear as the tiny shards landed on them. Ezra felt some of them cutting into his skin. Screams from the few gym patrons echoed in his ears.

Vin rolled off of him. Before Ezra knew what happened, the sharpshooter pulled his handgun off his waist and sprinted out of the broken window.

"Everyone stay down on the ground!" Ezra yelled and followed Vin out the window. He wished his gun wasn't locked up in the glove compartment of his car.

A speeding green car came shooting around the corner. This time is was Ezra's turn to save Vin. He pushed his friend out of the way as the green vehicle went flying past them. As Ezra was trying to figure out who was in the car, Vin had regained his balance and fired two shots at the speeding vehicle. It took a second for the bullets to reach their intended target. A loud popping noise echoed as tires blew and the car came to a screeching halt. The driver got out and began sprinting down the street, Ezra and Vin both took off at a dead sprint. Although both ran at similar paces, Ezra had the advantage of being warmed up and in running shoes. He easily overtook the driver by launching himself into the air and landing right on top his target, sending them both crashing to the ground.

Ezra was not expecting the impact to hurt so much, he was a little dazed as he rolled off. He saw the other man reach for his gun.

"I wouldn't," Vin answered coldly. Ezra looked up to see that his friend had his gun pointed at the other man.

Axel Norton dropped his gun and held up his hands.

"Impeccable timing Mr. Tanner," Ezra wheezed, pushing himself up.

"Did you think this was a damn movie Standish?" Vin growled, never taking his gun or his gaze off of Norton who looked a little stunned himself."What were you going to do once you got him to the ground without a gun?"

"A rather foolish impulse on my part," Ezra agreed. He looked down at Norton. "But I must admit that yours was much more foolish my friend." He roughly hauled the man to his feat. "Less than three hours out of prison and you all already trying to kill people? That might be something you want to discuss with the prison shrinks."

"You've got nothing on me!" Norton growled, his grey eyes never leaving the gun that was pointed at him. "That's why I got out in the first place."

"Well, you have gotten at least twenty years for an attempted assassination attempt on a federal agent," Ezra stated. "I think that will give us more than enough time to build a much more solid case against you, have no fear." He waited until Vin had handcuffed the man, then took out his cell phone. The guys were not going to believe this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"You know you can work your asses off, but sometimes police work just comes down to pure dumb luck," Josiah stated shaking his head.

"Or the stupidity of criminals," Buck added. "Norton could have been anywhere in the world right now, but he let his anger and sense of revenge stand in the way of common sense."

Josiah and Buck had joined Vin and Ezra down at the booking station and were now on their way back to the office. Ezra shared in the jovial mood as they walked into the bullpen.

JD and Nathan both started clapping when the team walked on. Even Chris, who was sitting on the edge on JD's desk had a big old grin on his face. The smile didn't last long.

"Ezra, there's somebody here to see you," Chris stated. Ezra suddenly remembered what Vin had told him at the gym. The excitement of the last few hours had suddenly disappeared. He felt his stomach instantly grow sick.

"The FBI?" Ezra asked.

Chris nodded his head.

"Did he say what he wanted?" Ezra asked.

"Only that he needed to talk to you. He's waiting in the conference room."

Ezra took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves.

"Do you want me to go in with you?" Chris asked. Ezra looked up and met the gaze of his boss. Ezra instantly sensed the concern and sincerity in Chris's eyes. He looked around and saw similar looks on the faces of his teammates.

"I think I can handle it," he stated, feeling his nerves settle somewhat.

"You holler if you need help, ya hear?" Buck stated.

"Of course," Ezra answered as he walked for the closed conference door. The others didn't say anything, but Ezra knew what they were thinking. They had his back. Ezra realized how much he appreciated the fact. He took one last deep breath before he opened the door.

A tall, lean man with trimmed blonde hair was sitting in the chair with a mug of coffee. He looked up when Ezra walked into the room and a huge genuine smile lit up his tanned face.

"Well Ezra Standish, you sure are a sight for sore eyes," he drawled with his heavy Louisianan accent. Ezra couldn't believe his eyes.

"Paul? Paul Debouix?" He shook the man's hand only when he got up and offered it. Memories came rushing back that Ezra had forgotten long ago and was not too keen to remember.

"What on earth are you doing here?"

"Well, that's kind of a long story," The FBI agent stated. "Why don't he have a seat. "There's coffee in the pot if you would like some." Ezra crinkled up his nose.

"I believe Mr. Tanner was in charge of making it this morning. I prefer to keep my stomach ulcer free, thank you."

"I heard what happened with Norton," the man laughed. "You have my congratulations."

Ezra didn't say anything. He sat down in the chair closest to the door.

"You always had an unconventional way of catching criminals," Paul stated. "Something the FBI never fully appreciated I'm afraid." Ezra's face fell slightly and he looked down at the table. "Before we go any farther Ezra," the man stated. "I owe you an apology."

Ezra looked up at the man in surprise.

"Pray tell, what for?"

"What for? Come on Ezra, because I was a bastard and abandoned you when you needed me the most. I was your partner yet I walked away. You can't tell me you've forgotten about all that.

Ezra's stomach lurched. This was part of his past and something he did not want brought up in this office, in fact he thought he had buried that part of life back in Atlanta.

"I never blamed you for that. It's wasn't your fault they reassigned you out of the Atlanta office and to New York," Ezra stated, trying to sound sincere and knowing that he had failed miserably

"Ezra, I….

"Everything alright in here?" The voice startled Ezra. He looked up to see Josiah standing in the doorway.

"Yes, everything is fine." Ezra stated.

Buck looked at him skeptically.

"You're as white as a ghost Ez."

Josiah immediately glared at the agent. Ezra cursed silently at himself. Had he really given that much away?

"

I assure you we are just fine," Ezra repeated, this time more forcefully while trying to regain his composure.

"Just checking," Josiah stated before disappearing down the hallway.

.

"They always that overprotective?" The other man asked chuckling.

.

"I'm sure that won't be the last time you see Mr. Sanchez's face. In fact, I'm sure all of them will make their way into this room at some point or another."

"It's good to have friends like that." He paused. "Well, if that's the case, they might as well all come in here." Ezra jumped when he raised his voice.

Before he had a chance to protest, his team was filing into the office. He watched the Cajun meet Chris's eyes and then go to the coffee pot.

"You knew?" Chris asked.

"I figured it out after a while," Debouix stated. Both men's eyes stayed to the coffee pot.

Ezra put it all together. He wasn't sure to be appreciative or angry that his boss had planted a listening chip in the break room. The team quickly filed into the room, taking their usual seats. Vin had to grab an extra chair since Debouix was sitting in his. Ezra had to give Debouix credit. He knew much stronger men who had flinched under the gaze of his team. The Cajun was obviously able to hold his own.

"I suppose none of you know the story about why Ezra got sacked in Atlanta." A ringing noise started to echo through Ezra's ears. All the men looked at Chris. The answer was obvious. Chris knew the most out of any of them, and even that was limited.

"Well I suppose its best to start at the beginning then," Debouix stated with a sigh.

"Ezra and I both met when we were freshmen at Southern Miss. We hit it off right away when we realized that we shared similar unstable backgrounds. I came from a long line of corrupt southern democrats. My dad was attempting to groom me to follow in the family business. Ezra's mom, well, she…" he struggled with the right words.

"They already know plenty about my mother," Ezra interrupted.

"When we got through college," Debouix continued, clearly glad not to have bring Ezra's mom into the discussion. "My dad wanted me to go into politics right away. I had no desire what so ever.,,,"

"I shared a similar desire to stay away from the family business," Ezra filled in with a smile, despite the small trickles of sweat he felt begin dripping down his neck.

"When we met an FBI recruiter out at a bar one night, we found a perfect option and were soon on our way to Atlanta."

"We were anything but welcome our first few weeks at the office," Debouix continued on with the story. "In fact, it was easy to see that our boss didn't want us there. He thought that we were nothing but a couple of rich hot shot kids with nothing but career advancement on our minds. I would even go so far as to say that Michaels despised us."

"He may have despised you, but he absolutely loathed me with every ounce of his being," Ezra stated.

"Well you definitely didn't do anything to improve your image," Debouix laughed. "The pictures that circulated through the department of him with that prostitute sure didn't help your relationship."

"He was a detestable man and no business having the position he did," Ezra stated. "I was simply trying to help others realize that." He could see the others smiling at each other and could imagine what was going through their heads. "_I wasn't a whole lot different than I am now._

"It turned out that Ezra and I were damn good at our jobs. I think we even surprised ourselves. Our successes made the Atlanta office look good. Michaels had to shut his mouth even though he wanted to kill Ezra."

"Hmm, sound familiar?" Vin whispered, looking at Chris.

"Never wanted to kill him," Chris stated. Then he looked at the skeptical look on the faces of his team. "Okay, maybe a few times, well maybe a little bit more than that….if he would shut his damn mouth!" This statement brought a laugh from everyone including Debouix. Everyone, but Ezra.

"Do tell about the activities we partook in when we were the paramount representatives of our illustrious firm," Ezra stated, quietly, refusing to meet the eyes of his teammates.

Most of the members of the team shifted nervously in their chairs. Josiah sighed, not liking what he had heard come out of his friend's mouth. The sudden shift to the five dollar words scared him. When he had first met Ezra, the man had been hard to like for many reasons. One of the many was his insistence of using words were rarely heard outside of a national spelling bee. It hadn't taken him long to realize that it had all been a well orchestrated ploy, a ploy that prevented him from getting close to anyone. Some of the language is what made Ezra, well Ezra, but the slow disappearance of the more extravagant words had been welcome by all. The sudden appearance of the old Ezra brought an uncomfortable ease into the room.

"Ezra, I don't think it's really necessary for…" Debouix protested.

"Quite the contrary my friend, it is essential information for the rest of this illuminating story,"

"Ezra, please don't…"

"Well if you have no intention of telling the real story then I will," Ezra answered scornfully, He didn't wait for more protesting.

"While I was pretending to be nobly serving my country, I had discovered a convenient way to transfer much needed funds from the FBI office into my own account. I was investing money that should have been helping keep the streets of Atlanta safe. While good agents with families took pay cuts, I was building my 401K." Ezra finished his rant and the room grew deathly silent. Debouix was the first to break the silence.

"Ezra, it wasn't as bad as you make it out to be," he stated quietly.

"Then why did you feed me to the wolves?" Ezra stated. His voice shook."If you'll excuse me..." Before anyone could do anything he had shot out of the room.

Debouix rose to his feet, but a simple command from Chris stopped him.

"No, I need you to tell us what happened after that."

Debouix knew that Larabee had no control over him, and if he wanted to follow Ezra. He had every right to, but something in the ATF leader's voice made him stop.

"Vin," Chris stated with taking his eyes off the FBI agent.

"On it Boss, I'll keep him from doing anything stupid." Vin got out of his seat and raced out the door.

"What did Ezra mean you turned him over to the wolves?" JD asked, his eyes narrowing menacingly towards the FBI agent.

JD knew that what Ezra had done was wrong. In fact, Ezra had done many things of questionable nature since he had known him, but he didn't care about that right now. All he knew was that this man had hurt Ezra somehow. Whatever he did was bad enough that his friend had displayed emotions JD had never seen before, First, they had to take care of Ezra, then they would worry about the problem.

"I'll get there in just a second Agent Dunne," Debouix answered, visibly shaken by his friend's outburst. 'Before I continue with the story, I want to make something clear. Ezra did not take as much money as he would have you believe. He made some good deals in the stock market and that's where his small fortune comes from. He's paid what he took back plus a hundred times more."

"He still stole the money," Nathan stated to himself than anyone else, trying to convince himself that this was a reason why he hadn't liked the southern man from the beginning.

The medic would be the first to admit that he had been Ezra's harshest critic from the very beginning. He hadn't trusted the man. Instead of giving him reasons to despise him, Ezra had proved time and time again he could and deserved to be trusted. A few years ago, this statement would have severed any bond he thought he had with Ezra. The statement now only dented it a little. Like JD, Nathan knew what his friend had done was wrong, but he prayed there had to more to the story. There was always an ulterior motive to Ezra's doings.

"He's his mother's boy," Debouix shot back.

Buck nodded his head in understanding. He knew, probably more than anyone what Debouix was implying. When a son has only his mom to depend on, she becomes his whole world. Buck had been lucky. Despite growing up poor and in some pretty sketchy conditions, Buck's ma had taught him compassion and love. Ezra was now learning many of the things that Buck had learned as a child. Until Ezra really understood them, there was bound to be a few bumps along the way.

"About a year after Ezra took the money, he came to me and told me what he did. He stated that his guilty conscious was starting to get to him and he was going to turn himself in. I of course was flabbergasted by what he said at first and didn't speak to him for about a week. After I came to my senses, I realized my mistake and told him that he needed to keep his mouth shut. I told him that he had paid the community back for his mistakes. Ezra wasn't happy, but he agreed that he wouldn't tell anyone about what happened." Debouix looked down at the table before he continued talking.

"But I didn't keep my end of the deal," he added in a much more quiet voice. "A promotion for a New York office popped up. The brass was eyeing Ezra and I for the position, but they would only take one of us. I was under a lot of pressure from my father. He said that I needed to start making more of myself or I would become a disgrace to the family name. There was also a girl in the picture….

Josiah sighed, knowing where this story was going. Debouix ended up telling Ezra's secret. He realized what that must have done to Ezra. No wonder why he was so unwilling to trust everyone. He doubted that he would be so willing to trust, especially if it was close friend who had turned him in. He could understand Debouix's position. He remembered what it was like to live under an overbearing father and how hard it was to live up to his expectations.

"And you told the whole story to your boss," Chris finished, not bothering to hide the fury in his voice. Debouix met Chris's gaze for a slight moment before lowering it.

"I'm not proud of it," the younger man answered. "It's something I've lived with the last few years in New York. Hell, the job wasn't even worth it. I hate it. Not a day goes by that I don't regret what I've done."

Chris paused before asking what was next.

"When I went to Atlanta to interview him, I heard rumors from other office workers about a possible murder cover-up. I never put any stock in them, but…"

Debouix slammed his fist down the table angrily.

"Ezra may have his issues with money, but he's not a dirty cop. When somebody is danger, I can't think of anyone else I would rather have by my side."

"Neither can I," Nathan said under his breath.

"When word got around about Ezra and the money," Debouix explained, "He started getting blamed for everything that went wrong at the office. The murder cover-up story was an attempt by Michaels to get rid of Ezra. He didn't have many friends to defend him before hand, and he sure didn't have any afterwards."

"That was your job," Buck said under his breath. The comment wasn't meant to be heard, because Debouix appeared shaken.

"Ezra became an easy scapegoat for everything that went wrong at the office. He was probably just being blamed for some botched case."

Chris sighed, letting his fists unclench. He had never put much stock in the rumors, but he had to do some investigating when he first hired the undercover agent. His investigations had turned up nothing. Still, he regretted that the nagging feeling was always there. It felt good to finally put everything to rest. He knew about Ezra and his money problems. Hell, he could deal with that. He looked at Debouix straight in the eye.

"Something tells me that you aren't here just to apologize."

.

"Well you know how I told you, I wasn't very happy in New York?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Ezra leaned against his car. His arms were on the top of the hood and his forehead was pressed against the driver side window. In his mad dash out of the office, he realized that he had forgotten his keys on his desk.

Why the hell did Debouix have to show up like this, especially now that he was finally starting to get his life back again? He was actually starting to build friendships like he and the Louisianan had once shared. He should have known better. His mother had always told him that friendships made for anything but financial gain never yielded positive results.

"You were right mother," he stated quietly. This realization hurt more than any punch ever could. He wasn't aware that his own fist had clenched into a punching position and started moving towards his car window.

"Nathan isn't going to be too happy if he has to stitch you up," a familiar voice stated.

Ezra turned around to see Vin standing in front of his car. His car keys were dangling on the Texan's finger.

"This is the second time I've had to track you down today," Vin said calmly walking forward. "You left these on your desk." He held up Ezra's keys.

Ezra reached out for his keys, surprised that Vin did not protest. He winced, not wanting Vin to see how much the action had hurt. He hadn't realized until it hadn't happened that he wanted Vin to pull back and refuse to give them to him. The small hope that somebody on his team still wanted him, cared enough to come get him was dashed

"Hell Ezra, you want me to take them back?" Vin asked. Ezra looked up to see a crooked smile on the sharpshooter's face.

"I ain't planning on letting you leave Ez, but I figured giving them to you right away would take some of the fight out of you." Ezra looked at him in surprise. Vin reached out and swiped the keys out of Ezra's hand.

"Better?" he asked.

Vin's ability to read people never ceased to amaze the undercover agent. Vin had read and interpreted Ezra's pained expression perfectly.

"You ready to talk now?" the sharpshooter asked.

"I would prefer not discussing anything until my letter of resignation is on Mr. Larabee's desk tomorrow morning," Ezra answered, refusing to meet Vin's glance.

"After all this time, that's all the trust you have in us Standish?" Vin asked, not bothering to hide the anger in his voice. "We've been through too much, saved each other's asses to many times to let some guy who most of never met come in and start telling stories…."

"What if those stories are true?" Ezra asked.. "I stole money Vin, money that should have gone to deserving men and their families. I used it for my own capital gain without any thought about who I'd hurt." Ezra's voice choked. "Don't lie to me and still say that you consider me a friend!"

Vin paused for a moment than said.

"Did you give it back?"

"Not right away, but eventually."

"And those stories making their way around Atlanta about you covering up a mur…"

"Did Debouix say that?" Ezra asked sharply.

"No, but I remember hearing about them when I went with Chris to help interview you."

"I assure you Mr. Tanner that my honor and integrity would never allow…"

Ezra was outraged when he realized that Vin was smiling. He closed his mouth.

"Hell Ezra, I'm not saying what you did in Atlanta was right. But then we've all done stuff in life we ain't proud of.

"I fail to see what you did that was worse than me," Ezra answered.

"Remember Charlotte?" Vin asked.

"Ah yes, the lovely wife that construction owner who was trying to build those new homes outside of Denver. We did manage to keep that crazy Irish contractor away from their project. I fail to see how your affair compares to my…"

"I could have brought down that whole project and you know it," Vin stated. "And that fact is something I will have to live with." He paused. "But I like to think that the things I'm doing now are helping to make up for it." He paused.

"I'm starting to think that's what life is all about Ezra. Finding ways to make up for all the mistakes we make and just trying to break even when it it's all done."

Ezra didn't speak for several seconds.

"Spoken like a true sage Mr. Tanner," he finally whispered breaking the silence.

"We all know your temptation in life is money Ezra. We all have sins and things we ain't proud of. Mind of as well stay with like minded people.

"Now you sound like Josiah," Ezra chuckled.

"Was that intended as a compliment?" Vin asked.

"The highest I can give," Ezra answered.

"Think you're ready to go back inside?" Vin asked. "Somehow I don't think Debouix came all the out here just to apologize."

"If I remember anything about Paul, I know that he didn't," Ezra answered.

"Reckon we better go see what he wants then," Vin laughed. Ezra sighed and nodded his head. He followed Vin through the parking lot and back up the steps..

"_Vin knows the truth and he didn't throw you out on the street,_" Ezra thought o himself. For a second, he felt like the weight of the world had been lifted off of his shoulders, but then a horrible thought occurred to him. _"Vin knows, but he's always been more forgiving then most men I know. What about the others?"_

The southerner felt his anxiety grow with each step he took. By the time he reached the door to the office, he could feel the beads of sweat dripping down his forehead. Vin turned around.

"Remember what I said about that whole trust thing Ezra?" He asked before opening the door and walking inside.

Vin's statement only offered a little support and did little to alleviate his stress. He clenched his fists and walked into the office. He tried to recall a time when he had been this scared on an undercover mission and couldn't recall a specific time. He walked into the office. None of them looked happy as they turned their gazes towards him.

"_I was right. I should have just taken the car keys and left right away," _He looked down at the key ring in his right and wondered if he could still make his getaway.

"Hey Ezra, welcome back!"

"Thank you JD, but…." Ezra didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. Chris was storming down the hallway muttering.

"That son of a bitch! Who the hell does he think he is thinking that he can just…" Chris stopped cursing and a surprised look crossed his face when he saw Ezra.

"Your back," he stated gruffly.

"Mr. Larabee, I…." Ezra said looking down at his feet.

"Debouix want to talk to you alone now," Chris interrupted gruffly. Ezra did not like the fact that Chris was not meeting his eyes. "Best you get in there now before I throw his FBI ass out of the window."

"Yes sir," Ezra answered. The relief he had felt only a few minutes before disappeared. He felt his stomach tighten and thought that he was going to throw up. Chris was obviously not as ready to forgive as Vin had thought. The outburst from the team leader who hadn't been aware he was there showed his true feelings.

"Ezra?" Chris said gruffly. Ezra turned around.

"You remember what I said after that first time you ran out on us?" Chris growled. Ezra didn't wait for a response. At that moment, Ezra wished Chris just would have shot him. It would have prevented the feeling he had at the moment of jumping of the window. He walked into the office before anyone had a change to say anything to him.

When he walked inside the room, Paul was sitting at the table. His face was red and his fists were clenched.

"That sure is one hell of a boss you've got there Ezra. He could give Michaels a run for his money."

"He does have a temper on him. One that I seem to bring to the surface quite often."

Paul looked at him dubiously and then a smirk crosses his face. Ezra felt his sadness turn to anger when he saw the upturned lips. Life hadn't been easy in Atlanta, but it has been bearable. Denver had been well…it didn't pay to dwell on it anymore. Ezra fought the urge to punch the man as he felt his anger grow. Somehow this man had managed to destroy his life twice.

I fail to see how this is entertaining," Ezra snarled. "Unless your purpose for coming today was to continue to make my life a living hell."

Paul leaned back in his chair, a pained expression on his face.

"Ezra, I never meant to…. I wasn't going to tell what happened until you brought up…." he paused, and then pushed a folder across the table.

"What's this?" Ezra asked, trying to appear that he didn't care

"It's the reason why I came here," Paul explained. "Read it."

"Why would I do that?" Ezra asked. He knew he sounded stupid, but he didn't care.

"Please Ezra, just look at it," Paul said exasperatedly. Ezra opened up the folder nonchalantly and started to read the first page. He knew his surprise was evident on his face.

"Remember how I told you that I wasn't happy in New York? Well I convinced the Bureau to transfer me. They are interested in setting up an office here due to the spike in drug and smuggling crimes," he paused and looked at Ezra. Ezra tried hard to keep a neutral face. "I will be in charge of a team of three to four agents. We will be based in Denver, but cover surrounding states and internationally as needed. This is supposed to be an elite squad and I was highly encouraged to hire only the best. I thought that…."

Ezra took a deep breath and looked at the job application in front of him.

"Why would you think of me for this proposed elite squad?"

"Modesty doesn't suit you Ezra. You and I both know about your unique skill set. I've been following your work with this team through the law enforcement circles. You have developed quite a reputation."

"Team Seven has more than one member Paul. The successes do not rest mainly on my shoulders." He skimmed the application and his eyes fell on the highlighted number.

"That may be true, but you played a big part in it. I want you on my team Ezra and I am willing to pay you what you really deserve."

The highlighted number was Ezra's proposed salary. He had to look at it several times. He couldn't believe it.

"As you can see, it is almost 35 percent higher than what you are making with the ATF right now."

"Surely the FBI doesn't approve…"

"Sign the contract and that's your salary," Paul stated firmly. "I want you on my team Ezra and I'm willing to do just about anything to get you."

Ezra looked at the contract again. He thought about the memorable times he had had working with his old friend. They were some of best times of his life. It would be exciting to work with him again. The higher salary was definitely a huge incentive.

Only a few seconds later, he thought about his last year in Atlanta after Paul had left. Although, he would never admit it to anyone he had left Atlanta a broken man. His anger towards Paul had lessened over the years, he would only be kidding himself if he thought they could build up the same kind of friendship again.

"As generous as this offer is Paul, I can't…."

"Ezra, tell me what I can do to show you that I'm sorry…"

Ezra felt his anger disappear. It was wrong to blame his old partner for his own shortcomings. Paul's appearance today only shortened the inevitable fact that eventually Larabee would find out.

"It's not that, believe me my friend. I admit that I was hurt, but that was a long time ago. We were young and both very different people then. There is no use dwelling in the past."

"Why won't you become a member of my team then?" Paul pushed.

Ezra closed the file and pushed it back towards the other agent.

"Please Paul, don't make me explain. I hope you know me well enough to….."

Paul held up his hand and sighed.

"I understand Ezra. I figured this would happen, but I had to try." He chuckled quietly. "Well since I'll be moving to Denver can I count on you to show me the ropes around here?"

"It would be an honor," Ezra answered. "I suspect I will have quite a bit of free time on my hand now."

"Why do you say that?" Paul asked, standing up and taking his suit jacket off the chair.

"Let's just say that Agent Larabee was less than pleased when he heard your enlightening story about my past earlier," Ezra stated and filled him in on the earlier discussion.

"Oh hell Ezra, he wasn't…" Paul stopped. "Wait, you think you're about to get fired and you still won't become part of my team? You really hate the FBI that much?"

"It's less to with the FBI and…." Ezra didn't finish the sentence. Revealing that he didn't think he could ever work in law enforcement without his team again was not something he wanted to admit publically. Again, Paul didn't push for answers.

"These guys must be awfully special to earn that much loyalty you from you Ezra," Paul stated. "Will you do me a favor though?" He waited for Ezra to give his confirmation. "Go talk to Larabee before you decide to clean out your desk."

"Why would I put myself through that verbal abuse?" Ezra asked.

"Just do it. I think you might be surprised," Paul answered. He put on his jacket and held out his hand. "It was a real pleasure seeing you again Ezra. Until we see each other again?"

"I look forward to it and sharing a fine bottle of Champaign at a darling little French Bistro I am fond off," he answered, returning the other agent's handshake.

"Until then," Paul answered walking out the door. "Remember what I said about Larabee."

Ezra was left standing alone in the doorway. He could hear Paul exchanging words with someone, but he couldn't hear who. He took several deep breaths trying to get up the courage to walk out of the office. He wondered if it was possible to open up the window and crawl out onto the roof to make his escape. Paul was right though, he needed to talk to Chris and the others. It wasn't their fault he had screwed up. Besides maybe he could bring a closure to this chapter of his life unlike in Atlanta. He just hated having to talk to Chris and…..

The door to the office reopened and Chris walked inside. Ezra sighed. It appeared Lady Fate had made his decision for him. Chris walked up to the coffee pot and poured himself a mug.

"So, are you leaving?" Chris asked nonchalantly.

Ezra clenched his fists and forced himself to remain calm.

"I'll have my desk cleared out by this evening. IF you don't mind, I'd rather write my resignation letter at home," he answered.

Chris slammed his mug on the counter, its contents splashing everywhere.

"Damnit Ezra, at least tell me it's not about the money!"

"I'm afraid that it was, "Ezra replied, slowly making his way towards the door.

Chris sighed sadly as he reached for the rag.

"I can't say that I blame you, with that kind of money I might even be tempted to.." "I am sure Mr. Larabee that you would never…"but I'm surprised that you are willing to go back to the FBI."

"It took a few seconds for the two men to realize that they were talking over each other.

"Why would I go back to the FBI?" Ezra asked

"Aren't you leaving with Debouix?"

"I can assure you that that I have no plans to ever rejoin that detestable organization," Ezra answered haughtily.

"Then why are you leaving?" Chris asked, his jaw clenching in anger and confusion.

"You have forced my hand Chris," Ezra answered. "I heard what you thought about me and the umm..situation when I walked back into the office earlier.

"What the hell are you talking about Standish?" then realization dawned on Chris. "Aww hell Ezra, I wasn't talking about you. I was calling Debouix a son of a bitch."

"And I can understand that…" Ezra started to say. "What?" was all he could stammer out when he comprehended Chris's words.

"I called Debouix a son of a bitch here for showing up here, making you so upset, and then wanting to hire you for his stupid FBI team."

"It wasn't about the money that I stole?" Ezra asked.

"I ain't saying what you did was right Ezra," Chris answered. "But we've all got…"

"Please spare me the philosophical musings," Ezra answered. "I was already preached to by Mr. Tanner."

Chris chuckled and took a sip of the coffee. He spit it out into the sink.

"God I hope he can preach better than he makes coffee," Chris answered. He turned to look at Ezra. "Then are you're staying?"

"If you can see past all my…"

"Ezra," Chris warned. Ezra shut his mouth. "The boys and I talked and we decided that whatever your decision is, what we know about Atlanta will never leave this office.

"You ladies done chatting in here?" Buck stuck his head in the door. He looked nervously at Ezra. "So you come up with a decision Pard?"

"Is he staying Buck?" Vin's voice called.

"Hold you horses Tanner, I didn't…."

"JD, get off my desk and quit trying to peak through the vent!' Nathan boomed. There was a loud crash. "I told you that you were going to fall!"

Ezra looked at Chris. "Lord help me, I don't know how I put up with all of you."

"You must be some kind of saint Ezra," Chris laughed, patting him on the shoulder. A huge grin lit up Buck's face.

"He's staying!" Buck called. "And a loud whoop echoed through the room.

"We don't have long to celebrate though," Josiah answered. "We've got to get over to the rink for practice."

Sudden realization hit Ezra.

"Practice?" Ezra asked in a shaky voice.

"Yeah," Chris said turning to look at him. "Like we have every Thursday. Look Ezra, if your shoulder is still bothering you, you don't have to play."

"My shoulder is showing no lasting effects," Ezra answered. I just may have invited some unexpected visitors to our practice that I forgot to tell you about."


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

"So you really invited a bunch of kids to our practice?" Buck asked as he and Ezra walked into the ice rink. "What gave you that idea?" Team Seven had all left the office at the same time, but due to numerous errands and stops, the two men were the first to arrive.

"I don't know what I was thinking," Ezra answered shaking his head.. "I can promise that it will not happen again." He followed Buck past the bleachers to the locker room.

"Hell Ezra," Buck responded. "Don't feel bad about it. I think it's cute. It's just that I'm a little surprised that you…Well hello!"

Ezra almost ran into the back of his friend who had made an unexpected stop. He looked over Buck's shoulder to see Ellie Gordon standing up.

"It a pleasure to see you again Miss Gordon," Ezra greeted, holding out his hand. He pushed Buck to the side who tripped slightly, but was able to regain his balance.

The woman was wearing slightly out of date dress clothes and her hair was pulled up in a bun. There was a slight trace of make up on her face. Once again, Ezra felt it difficult to look away.

"And you as well Ezra," Ellie answered. He was glad to see to see that she seemed pleased to see him and his handshake was warmly reciprocated. For a second, he was at a loss for what to say. He was content to watch her smile.

"Umm Ezra, are you going to introduce me to your lovely friend here?" Buck asked.

"Oh yes," Ezra answered, slightly annoyed that his moment with the woman had been interrupted. This is Buck Wilmington, one of my associates."

"It's nice to meet you," Ellie greeted, holding out her hand.

"Believe me, the pleasure is all mine," Buck answered. He brought Ellie's hand to his lips and gently kissed it. Ezra was slightly annoyed to see Ellie's cheeks light up with an attractive blush. Kissing her hand was something that he normally would have done.

"I'm assuming you are the coach of the team that we're going to be sharing the ice with right?" Buck asked.

"Look about that," Ellie stated. "It was a generous offer Ezra and I appreciate it, but I came here alone right now to give you a way out without feeling guilty. I know how expensive ice time is and now that your team needs to practice for the City Cup, I want…"

Ezra held up his hand to stop her.

"I wouldn't have offered for you and your team to come if I didn't mean it Ellie, You are more than welcome to join us."

"And the rest of your team is okay with it," Ellie asked turning to Buck.

"You better believe it Missy," Buck answered. "We're excited to play with those kids of yours. It will lighten up our own practice. Ezra and some of the boys have a tendency to take things too seriously sometimes."

At the moment, Ezra realized that he would have bought the whole ice rink for her, if Ellie would smile like that for him again.

"Thank you so much!" She exclaimed. "This really means a lot to me. The kids are going to be so excited. They all love coming to watch you play and now that they have the opportunity to be on the ice the same time as you…"

"Ellie, ummm, where are these kids of yours?" Buck asked, looking around.

"Oh, they're not here right now," Ellie answered sheepishly. "They are all at the youth center. I didn't want to get their hopes in case you decided to change your mind. I'll call Brad the youth center leader and he'll bring them over in the van." She paused and pulled out her cell phone. "I'm going to go and call him right now. She turned to walk away from them, brushing past Vin and JD who were just walking in. Vin and JD both turned to watch her go.

"Wow, who's that?" JD asked.

"She's the one who coaches the kids we're playing with later," Buck answered..

"Can see why you wanted to do her a favor Ezra," Vin stated. "She's one good looking lady. Looks Eastern European to me."

"Russian," Ezra answered. "And I assure you Vin that I offered to share our ice time because she is clearly donating her time to help kids in need of…"

"Oh shut up Ezra," Buck clapped him so hard on the shoulder that he had to take a step forward to keep his balance. "You should have seen him," he laughed. "Casanova, he was," he added sarcastically. "so tongue-tied he could barely get a word out."

"My interests in Miss Gordon are nothing but altruistic and…."

"Then you won't mind if I ask her out for dinner when she gets back?" Buck asked.

'Stay away from her," Ezra growled, before he had a chance to think. This only caused Vin, JD and Buck to start laughing. Ezra's eyes narrowed into slits.

"Oh come on Ezra," JD said. "Nothing wrong with having a crush on a girl."

"Mr. Dunne, I…."

"Relax Ezra," Buck answered. "She wouldn't have said yes to me any way. She had the same googly eyes for you that you were looking at her with." He paused. "Poor girl just doesn't know what she's missing," he sighed.

"I did not have googly eyes or whatever you call them," Ezra said indigently.

"Get your googly eyes and the rest of yourself into the locker room now," Chris ordered walking up. Nathan and Josiah were behind him."I just saw a van pull up with a bunch of wild kids getting out. We'd best be getting ready for Ezra's charity project."

The others started to walk towards the locker room. Chris waited for them all to walk by before he whispered into Ezra's ear.

"You look a little star struck right now Pard. I suggest you get yourself under control before you trip all over yourself on the ice."

"Well I never…." Ezra started to say, but Chris was already walking away He sighed and followed his team leader into the locker room.

_An hour later…._

Josiah surveyed the scene in front of him. Seven other adults and nine kids were all involved in various activities around the ice rink. The kids were in pads and skates that looked like they had been purchased at various Good wills and rummage sales. A boy and a girl of Asian descent and two tall white boys and were sprinting around the rink while Vin and Nathan yelled instructions to them. Josiah assumed Team Seven's wingmen were helping the kids work on angles for the shot. Chris and JD had a boy and girl working on defensive maneuvers. Buck was shooting goals at a tall black girl. Ezra was talking with Ellie's little brother in the corner of the ice and using lots of hand gestures.

Although he was not the flashiest or fastest player on the team, Ezra was an excellent center. The leadership that he was so hesitant to burden with himself with at work came through on the ice. Although they all called plays on occasion, everyone usually deferred to Ezra. Chris had told him once that he was happy to pass off the responsibility of team captain to Ezra. "I've got to worry about you all enough at work," he had stated with a chuckle. Josiah had no doubt that Ezra was passing on words of wisdom to the youth. And judging by the way he kept looking over his shoulder, making sure the teen's older sister knew as well.

Josiah watched as Ellie skated over to the box and grabbed a water bottle. He skated over next to her.

"I don't think I've had a chance to really introduce myself. Josiah Sanchez," he stated. Ellie nodded in greeting.

"I know who you are. I think you are really good friends with Brad Milton who runs the West Side City Center," Ellie answers. "He talks about you all the time."

"Brad and I go way back," Josiah answered. "We used to work together in Purgatorio and various youth projects all the time, but then he started working a lot over on the West side.. I haven't had a chance to see him lately. But looks like he's got a lot of good help with people like you."

"He was a big help when Nick and I moved here a year ago. He got me a job working in one of the schools as an aid," Ellie answered. "We didn't really know anybody and it was our first time in the United States..." She got a look on her face as if she was revealing too much. "Anyway it's nice to help it out and keeps me busy." She glanced down at her watch. "Fifteen more minutes, kids," she called out. "Then you've got to go change!"

Josiah laughed out loud when he heard some deep groans mixed in with the higher voices of the kids.

"But Ellie…." The girl who played goalie started to whine.

"I know you're having fun Monica, but I also know that you have a math test tomorrow. In fact, I think most of you have tests coming up this week," she said looking at all the kids. "And you know the rules about staying on this team." She said sternly. "They get to play hockey for free," Ellie explained to the men, "but they all have to maintain a C in all of their classes."

"It doesn't matter," Nick said out loud, skating over from where he was talking with Ezra. "We don't get to play anymore anyway."

"Nick, don't…"Ellie started to say.

"What?" Nick said harshly. "Why do you keep lying to us? I know that you or the center can't afford to pay for anymore ice time for us. Besides, we'll never be ready for our first game anyway."

"Is that true Ellie," the kid who played right wing asked. "We don't get to play hockey anymore?" The look on his face made Josiah's heart melt.

The happy look on Ellie's face disappeared as she rubbed a hand over her now sad and tired looking face.

"Come here for a second all of you," she said, motioning with her arm. The whole team skated over and she pulled them into a huddle and began talking to them quietly.

Vin and Nathan skated over to where Josiah was standing. Chris, JD and Buck grabbed all the water bottles and brought them over.

"Awful shame if those kids can't play hockey anymore," he stated. "After all the hard work it looks like she put into them. Reckon kids like that don't get to do things like this very often," he said taking a big swig of the water.

"All that gear must have taken ages to gather," Nathan answered.. "Even second hand, I bet it wasn't cheap. I'd hate to see it all go to waste."

"Yeah," JD agreed. "And those kids are really good. Ellie must be a really good coach. If they had the money most of them could probably play in those traveling leagues."

"Sports are really good for all kids," Buck stated. "Teaches them skills like teamwork and dedication and all that sorts of stuff."

"Sorts of stuff?" JD scoffed. "You should be a motivational speaker or something."

"Shut up Kid," Buck growled. Then his face lit up into a smile. "I think we're all pretty much thinking the same thing right?" He looked around. "You've been real quiet Pard, What do you think?" He looked over at Chris.

Chris wasn't looking at them. He pointed to where Ezra was standing a few feet away from Ellie and the kids. They all turned their heads to look and started chuckling.

"He's got it bad doesn't he?" Nathan laughed. "Has anyone ever seen him react to woman like that before?"

"Can't recall the last time he went out on a real date when it wasn't undercover," Vin answered. "I know that he's met women he's liked, but…

"God I hope he never has to go undercover where he has to spy on a pretty girl," JD answered. "Because he sure ain't hiding any of his feelings right now."

"He's human just like the rest of us," Josiah answered with a smile. He liked that they kept learning more and more about their friend.

Ezra sensing that he was being watched turned his head to look at the rest of team. Buck waved to him caused JD and Vin both to snicker. Ezra glared at them and turned away.

"Ezra, get over here," Chris called.

Ezra rolled his eyes and skated over.

"Gentleman, I am not in the mood to be ridiculed at the moment. I'm trying to figure out a way to secure more ice time for those kids and…."

"Ezra, if Ellie wants they are more than welcome to keep coming to our practices…" Chris said.

'Of course, I can donate to their cause and use it as a tax write off and…"

"Ezra," Chris tired to interrupt.

"I wonder if their might be some other financial incentive to.."."

"Ezra," Chris yelled.

Ezra stopped talking and looked at Chris.

"You skate your ass over there and tell Ellie that she and her team are more than welcome to share our time slot with us whenever they want," he answered.

"Are you serious?" Ezra asked narrowing his eyes. "I cannot see any sort of benefit for you in…"

"Why does there always have to be some sort of benefit Ezra?" Nathan asked rolling his eyes. "What kind of men would we be if we told those kids they couldn't play hockey anymore."

"What about the Championship?" Ezra asked.

"We started playing cause this was supposed to be fun, "Vin answered. "I don't know about you guys, but I haven't had this much fun in a long time." He patted Ezra on the back. "Come on Ezra, go be her hero."

"If you are sure…" Ezra answered, but he turned before anyone had given him answer.

"Wait a second Ezra," Buck called. "We'll give up our ice time on one condition."

"Yes," Ezra sighed turning around.

"You ask that girl out on a date," Buck answered. "I'm already tired of you looking like a love struck puppy. It's not like you and its making me nervous.'

"Buck, I can't…."

"Come on Ezra, you've faced down some of the most dangerous criminals in the world. You should be able to ask a girl out on date," Vin teased.

"Fine," Ezra answered. "Only because it's the only to do get you to stop bothering me. She may not even say yes…." He skated away.

"Who knew?" JD chuckled.

They all watched as Ezra skated over and tapped Ellie on the shoulder. They couldn't hear what he said, but a few seconds later she squealed with delight and hugged him around his neck. She quickly let go and they both looked at the ground slightly embarrassed.

Ellie turned to look at her kids. After she finished, the kids cheered. They all skated over to the men.

"Ellie said that we can keep practicing with you," Nick said. "Is that true?"

"Of course kid," Buck answered. "You guys are good, but you've got a long way to go before you're ready to play in the city championship."

"We're not that good," one of the Asian boys stated.

"You never know if you don't give it a try," Chris answered. "Now you'd best do what your coach says and go get changed in the locker room." The kids looked they were about ready to protest, but Chris lowered his eyebrows at them. "Don't argue."

Their eyes got big and they scurried for the locker room.

"Never fails," Buck chuckled quietly. "You guys willing to chip in for a few pizzas for them before they leave. Bet they all could use something to eat." They all started heading to the opposite locker room

"I'll got to go get my stick on the other side of the rink," Vin answered, smiling and motioning with his head to where Ezra and Ellie were still talking. He skated just within hearing distance and then made a big deal about bending over and having to fix his skate.

"I don't know how to thank you and your team enough. There's not many people who would help a bunch of kids from the wrong side of the tracks like this."

"Surely you don't put enough trust in people. This really isn't anything…"

"You assume too much. People here are similar to that in my own country. They are not willing to help those they don't understand…" She shut her mouth quickly. "Sorry," she added.

"There's nothing to apologize for," Ezra answered "In fact, I would like to learn more about you. I suspect that you have quite an interesting story to tell." Vin could hear the slight shake in Ezra's voice."It would be a pleasure to take you out to dinner sometime next week."

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Ellie asked, surprised.

"Well, umm," Ezra stuttered and Vin cringed slightly. "Well, yes I suppose that I am if you are interested."

"Oh Ezra, I can't…" Ellie answered.

Vin felt his heart sink and he felt bad for Ezra.

"Oh, well I understand that…"

"You see I don't like to leave Nick alone and with work and everything and…" Vin noticed that Ezra's voice was shaking as much as Ezra's.

"There is no need to explain Ms. Gordon. I'll will just be on our way. We have another practice next Tuesday and we expect to see you and the kids here." There was a long pause. "I will just be on my way then."

"Shit," Vin said under his breath as we watched Ezra turn on his heels.

"Wait Ezra," Ellie stated. "The team and some kids from the youth center are having a cook-out this weekend. It's not anything special, but we're trying to raise money for the new center. It you and some of your friends came, it would really mean a lot to the kids….and to me,'" she added.

Vin could feel Ezra's eyes on him. He nodded his head slightly. He saw Ezra turn back around. This time he lifted his head to watch.

With his typical flair that had been missing all evening, Ezra bowed gallantly. He picked up Ellie's hand and kissed it.

"It would be an honor Miss Gordon."

.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Ezra looked out the window at three straggly looking teens standing around the corner. They all wore dirty clothes and were slouching against the wall.

"Disgusting," he said quietly, but then he thought about his own oversized flannel shirt and torn jeans. He was sure that the old baseball cap turned backwards only added to the appeal of his attire. He glanced at his watch.

"This was not how I was planning spending my Saturday," he said out load.

"Sorry Ezra," Chris's voice echoed through the tiny piece of metal in his right ear. "DEA called and asked for a favor at the last minute. Nathan's out of town with Rain for the weekend, Josiah and JD both have that flu bug that's going around the office, Josiah needs to help volunteer at that cook-out and Vin and Peso are up in the mountains somewhere where I can't reach them.

"Never let it be said that I didn't serve my country," Ezra said with an exaggerated sigh. "In fact, I think I might…." He stopped when he saw a car appear. "Hold on, it looks like we may have company. He immediately stopped complaining about his story state of affairs and diverted his attention to the scene in front of him. "Hold on, I think we might have company." He stopped complaining and focused his attention on the scene in front of him.

"Black Cadillac," Ezra began explaining the scene to Chris. "It has Colorado license plates. The number is B473-SM7.

"Can you see the driver?" Chris asked.

"Windows are tinted," Ezra answered. "Kids are coming up to the windows. They're laughing about something.

One of the kids looked over his shoulder. Ezra quickly raised the newspaper over his face. He waited a few seconds then lowered it. The kid's attention was back on the car.

"Talk to me Ezra," Chris stated.

"They are just talking. There's nothing of interest yet. Please tell me why we are here again."

"Remember how a few weeks ago, we all got that memo about Eastern European crime syndicates moving into Denver? Well the DEA office out of San Francisco have heard chatter about certain members testing the waters to set up shop out here. They've been following a man named Misha Lebanov. He might be the one in that car. DEA says they intercepted a phon conversation that he was in Denver and wanted to meet some local dealers."

"Well it's impossible to tell who the driver is right now," Ezra answered. "I could try and get closer and…"

"No," Chris said firmly. "We're here on a scouting mission only and I'm not sending you in there without back-up. The agent and her team will be arriving later this evening and we'll pass the information on to them."

Ezra leaned forward when he saw the car window open.

"Hold on Chris, there was just a bag passed through the window.."

"Shit," Chris swore. "You think it might be drugs?"

"It's hard to tell," Ezra answered. "The car is starting to pull away."

"Let it go," Chris ordered. "We're not prepared if there really is a drug lord of Lebanov's caliber if he's the one in that car. Like I said earlier, we'll pass on the information to the DEA agent."

"And the kids?" Ezra asked hesitantly. Chris didn't respond right away. Going after a drug lord with no evidence one thing, but kids with drugs in their own city was another. As lawmen and citizens of Denver, there was a moral obligation to get the harmful substance of the streets.

'It's up to you Ezra," Chris finally answered. "You're the one that's down there and sees the situation." This was not the answer Ezra had been looking for. He wanted nothing more than to go home, shower, put on proper clothing and then go to the cook-out. On the other hand, he realized that the teen center was only a few blocks away. He thought about the drugs getting into the hands of the kids he had played hockey with only a few days before. He rubbed a hand over his face. There really wasn't much of a decision.

There was a knock on the window and the passenger door flew open. Ezra grabbed the gun by his side and pointed it at the intruder.

"Whoa Ezra, it's just me," Vin said holding up his hands.

"Mr. Tanner, I cannot assure your safety if you continue to sneak up on me like that. That's the second time in a week," Ezra scolded as he lowered his gun.

"I'll take my chances," Vin answered as he got into the car. He tossed a duffle bag on the car floor before getting in and slamming the door shut."

Ezra hissed and looked over at the boys.

"Hell Ezra, they see stuff like this all the time. Guy hanging out in a car with a gun is nothing out of the ordinary for them."

"Well you certainly look like you belong," Ezra answered, much more harshly then he intended. He was angry with himself for letting Vin sneak up on him like that. "Vin, I'm…."

Vin held up his hand to show that all was forgiven.

"Sounds like Tanner just showed up," Chris's voice echoed in his ear. As if on cue, Vin took out a small metal container. He took out and earpiece and a tiny microphone and put them on.

"Hey cowboy, I'm in the car now," he answered. Ezra shook his head in amazement at how in sync his two teammates seemed to be at times.

"Just what are you doing here?" Ezra asked. "Chris said that you were out only God knows where and were unreachable."

"Peso got a small cut on his leg. He'll be fine, just needs to rest," he added when he saw Ezra's concerned face. "I got Chris's message and headed down to the office. I was keeping an eye on things from behind that trash bin over there for the last fifteen minutes."

"And you didn't tell me about this because?" Ezra asked Chris.

"Two pairs of eyes are better than one and I didn't want to listen to you bitch and moan that Vin could be doing the job on his own," Chris answered. "I know you want to get that cook-out Ezra. So do I, but we've got a job that we have to do too."

Ezra couldn't really argue with that. Then he thought of something

"You knew that Vin was here and you still wouldn't let me get a closer look at the car?"

"I told you Ezra that I wasn't lending you out to do some other agency's work without a good reason and the reason just wasn't good enough for me this time," Chris answered.

"Are we going after the kids then?" Vin asked.

"So it would seem," Ezra answered dejectedly. Knowing that there would be no time to go home and make it to the cook-out.

"With two of us, it should go faster," Vin said with a smile. "You should still have time to make it to see your girlfriend."

"She is not my girlfriend!" Ezra stated angrily. "Need I remind you that she turned down my request for dinner?"

"Aww, she's just playing hard to get," Vin laughed.

"Well it doesn't matter whatever game she is planning because I have no way to go home and get out of these trash barrel clothes and get there on time."

"Figured you'd be short on time, so I swung by your house and picked up some clothes for you," he picked up the duffle bag and tossed it at Ezra. "I drove your Jag over to teen center and walked over here. Talked to Ellie and she's expecting you.

"Mr. Tanner, I am indebted to…What is this? He asked holding up a pair of jeans and a beige polo shirt.

"Umm those are clothes Ezra," Vin answered.

"When have you ever seen me dress so informally for a social gathering? Ezra asked as he held a pair of tennis shoes up in disgust.

"You are aware that is a cookout of a bunch of kids and not some fancy dinner at the Ritz right?" Vin asked chuckling. "Believe me, you will still be too dressed up."

"Next time I need fashion advice I'll be sure to consult…"

"When you ladies are finished discussing Ezra's wardrobe," Chris's harsh voice made both of them cringe. "You could get along with your job. I don't plan on spending my whole evening in this damn office."

"Are you ready Mr. Tanner?" Ezra asked.. He slipped his gun into its holster on his hip.

"Ready as I'll ever be," Vin answered. "Maybe they'll make this easy on us today. One, two, three go."

Both agents opened their car doors at the same time and exited. The boys made no sign that they noticed the men until Vin and Ezra were only a few feet away. The immediately got up from their slouching positions and eyes the men warily.

"Hiya boys," Vin greeted warmly. "My friend and I here got a few questions we want to ask you.'

The boys looked at each other and then took off at a sprint. Vin sighed and glanced over at Ezra.

"Damn I thought they really might make it easy on us today."

"No such luck," Ezra answered as he pulled out his gun. "Chris we've got a runner," he said before running after the boys. He knew that Vin was one his heels. They ran for a few blocks when one of the boys headed down a side street.

"Let him go, "Ezra puffed to Vin. "The one with the drugs is still in front of us." The chase continued for a few more blocks. Out of the corner of his eye, Ezra saw his car parked in front of a brightly colored building. There were a group of people that stopped what they were doing to watch as the trio ran past. That must be the teen center, he thought to himself.

"Mike, what's going on?" Someone in the yard called. The voice stopped the feeling teen for a split second. It was just enough time for Ezra to launch himself through the air. He landed on top of the boy. He struggled, but Ezra was able to pull himself to his knees and in the boy down. He tried to ignore the pain that erupted through his just healed shoulder.

"Please don't struggle," Ezra told him. It's really not worth the effort. He was aware of Vin standing behind him.

"Jeez Ezra, you got to stop using your body like that. You ain't going to last long if you keep pulling stunts like that," Vin stated.

"Thank you for the advise," Ezra stated sarcastically. He and Vin both pulled the boy to his feet.

"You bastards got nothing on me," the boy spat. "I've got my rights!"

"Course you do," Vin responded. "And we're here to protect them. What's that hanging out of his pocket Ezra?"

"Hey!" The boy exclaimed when Ezra pulled the small bag out of his pocket. Ezra opened it and saw a light brown powder inside. He sniffed it and a slight vinegar smell entered his nostrils.

"I think it might be heroin," Ezra stated, closing the bag. "But I'm not sure…" One look at the boys face revealed that his initial assumption had been correct.

"Looks like you just gave up some of those rights," Vin chuckled quietly. He looked over his shoulder at the youth center and the kids who were leaning against the fence post watching intently. "Let's take this around the corner."

Ezra and Vin basically pushed the teen out of the view of the teen center When they were out of sighed, Vin started to talk to the teen again.

"My partner and I are going to let you go. If you make a move, he'll attach you again. We can either ask you questions here or cuff you and take you the nearest police station."

The kid seemed to be weighing his options. He finally let out a loud sigh in resignation.

"I'm not going to run away," he answered.

"Wise decision," Ezra stated. He let go of the boys arm.

"Where did you get this stuff?" Vin asked, grabbing the bag out of Ezra's hand.

"I found it on the street," The kid answered, looking down at his feet.

"I know we're cops," Vin growled, "but that doesn't mean we are stupid. We saw you talking to that guy in the black car."

"We were just talking," The boy responded. He began to shake slighlt.

" I don't need to tell you that procession of this stuff carries serous jail time. You ready to be locked away for twenty years?"

"I'm not scared of jail," the boy spat, but both the agents knew he was lying. They were not dealing with a seasoned criminal here. He refused to meet their eyes and was no shaking so bad, they were afraid he was going to fall over.

"Look ," Vin talked again, this time in a much softer tone. "We're not after you. We've got bigger fish to fry. Tell us about the guy in the car and we might be willing to let you go."

"Really?" The boy's voice cracked, revealing his true age.

"Tell us what happened there Mike," Ezra said calmly. He remember the boy stopping when someone had called out his name.

The boy jumped slightly at the mention of his name.

"I don't know the guy's name, but he talked with a funny accent. People here got funny accents too sometimes, but I haven't heard this one before. He and some of his friends have been on the streets lately.

"Trying to sell their drugs?" Vin asked. "Looking for dealers?"

"Yeah," Mike answered. "But they were asking for information too."

"Information about what?" Vin continued to push.

"I don't really know. Something about a woman who just moved here with a son or something like that. This was the first time I had talked to him. My friend is the one that set this meeting up. I just came along with him.

"What about the heroin?" Ezra asked.

"The guy in the car gave it to us as a gift. Said that if we liked it, he would bring us more."

Ezra and Vin both exchanged a dark look. Ezra felt his anger start to grow. It was a common practice among drug lords. When they wanted to establish themselves in an area, they would start by giving out their product for free. When they were finally ready to move it, they would have an addicted clientele prepared to pay any price to maintain their high.

"You're sure everything you're telling us is the truth?" Vin asked.

Mike shook his head emphatically

"I don't know anything else.. I'm sorry I ran away, but I was scared." He paused. "Are you going to let me go?" he asked.

"What do you think Ezra?" Vin asked, looking towards him. "Did he perform his civic duty?"

Ezra made a show about thinking about it.

"I suppose so," he stated. "As long as my friends and I don't see you getting into trouble like this again. Next time we won't be so generous." He added harshly for dramatic effect.

"I promise I won't," The boy's squealed.

"One other thing, Vin stated. "When's the last time you had a decent meal? "

"What?" Mike asked confused.

"Would you like a hamburger? I'm going to walk over to that cookout and get myself some dinner. Do you want to come with me?" Vin asked, letting a smile creep onto his face.

"Ummm….yeah…sure. I guess," Mike answered nonchalantly, but both men could see the look of happiness on his face.

"Let's go," Vin answered. He and Mike started to walk away. It took him a few seconds to realize that Ezra was not following. He stopped and looked behind him.

"There's no other back to the car than past the center Ezra," Vin stated, guessing what was preventing his friend from moving. "You're going to have to walk past that center whether you like it or not.'

"Perhaps you could distract Ms. Gordon and convince her to go inside long enough for me to sprint by…"

"Agent Tanner, I don't want to interrupt your work, but…."

Ezra groaned when he recognized the female voice.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

:

Ezra glanced around the corner and saw Ellie standing down a few feet away from them.

Vin and Mike. She had a hesitant look on her face as if she wasn't sure she should be there.

"Agent Larabee, I think we have finished our mission," Ezra said quietly. "The drugs have been apprehended and…."

"Nice work," Chris's voice responded in his ear, "But I think I might stick around and see how this all ends up." Chris's words caused Vin to snicker slightly.

'You are worse than Buck," Ezra said under his breath.

"What can we help you with Ellie?" Vin asked kindly.

"Well I don't know what kind of trouble Mike has gotten himself into," she answered glaring at the kid who looked sheepishly down at his feet. "and I don't want to get in the way if he's done something wrong, but I thought I should tell you that he's usually a good kid and…."

"There's nothing to worry about Ellie," Vin answered. "Mike, Ezra and I have come to an understanding, haven't we Mike?" Vin addressed the kid, slapping him on the back. "As long as he keeps himself out of trouble from now on."

"We'll make sure of it," Ellie answered, looking directly at Mike. Then her face softened. "Go get a hamburger before they are all gone."

Mike didn't need to be told twice. He sprinted around the corner to the teen center. They all watched him go for a second.

"Can I ask what he was in trouble for?" Ellie asked when he was out of hearing distance. Vin held up the bag.

"Caught him with this, we think its heroin," Vin answered. Ezra was surprised that his friend was so willing to discuss what just happened with the woman.

"Chyort voz mi," Ellie said, quietly under her breath as he shook her head.

"What was that?" Vin asked, confused. Ezra knew that the woman had just sworn in Russian.

"Nothing," Ellie answered quickly. "Mike's supposed to be one of our good kids. Comes from a rough background. Mom's just out of rehab and Dad was never in the picture. He's been doing really well in school lately. He comes by the teen center every now and then to help tutor the younger kids."

"I really think it was just him being in the wrong place at the wrong time," Vin answered. "I really shouldn't get into more details than that."

"I understand," Ellie answered. "Thanks for giving him a second chance. If any kids deserves it, It's Mike."

"I've learned that sometimes a little understanding goes a long way," Vin answered. "You still got some of those hamburgers left?"

"If the wolves haven't eaten them all yet, then yeah," she answered with a smile. "The kids are going to be excited to see you." She glanced over at Ezra with a question in her eyes. "Are you coming as well Ezra?"

Ezra looked down at his clothes.

"My deepest apologies, but I am hardly properly dressed for…."

"What's wrong with the way you are dressed?" Ellie asked. She looked down at her own jeans and black hooded sweatshirt.

He saw Vin smile and could hear Chris's snicker in his ear.

"A hamburger sounds delightful," he said, walking forward. "Shall we?" he asked, walking forward. He offered Ellie his arm and she linked her own through his.

"Ezra, I'm going to lock the drugs in your car and we'll deal with them later Okay?" Vin stated.

"We are going to have paperwork…." Chris stared to say. Ezra ignored Vin and pulled our his earpiece as they continued to walk towards the center.

"That was very brave the way you came over here to vouch for Mike," Ezra stated, as they were walking.

"Someone has to be an advocate for these kids," Ellie answered. "I've seen them abused by the police too many times than I care to count," she paused. "No offence,." She added.

"None taken," Ezra answered. "Surely we can't all be that bad."

"Well I haven't been here all that long," Elle answered. "We'll just have to see," she added playfully.

A chorus of catcalls and whistles greeted their ears as they entered the parking lot of the teen center. All the kids in the yard were watching as they approached.

"Who's the guy Ellie?" One of the older girl called.

"Geez Ellie, didn't know you had a cop for a boyfriend," another voice called.

"Sorry," Ellie answered. She let go, Ezra was pleased to see rather reluctantly, of his arm. "Kids," she said as explanation.

"No need to apologize," Ezra answered. He turned when he saw Nick and the Asian defensivekid named Yang rushing to greet him.

"Hi Ezra, Josiah said that you were going to come!" Nick greeted.

"We are going to start a basketball game," Yang said enthusiastically. "Would you like to play on our team?"

"Hold on a second boys," Ellie laughed. "Let's let Mr. Standish some food first. I'm sure he's pretty hungry," she looked at him questionably.

"Famished," Ezra answered honestly. He had hadn't eaten since his sandwich around noon.

"If you'll follow me?" Ellie bowed gracefully.

"Ellie, we need you to open up the backroom so we can get some more chairs," a boy called from behind them. Ellie looked over at the group of teens and rolled her eyes.

"Duty calls, I'm afraid," she answered. "Boys, can you show Mr. Standish over to food table?" She didn't wait for an answer.

"This way Mr. Standish," Yang responded. Ezra followed the two boys over to a where several large fold-out tables had been placed They had to walk through several groups of kids and adults who spread out over the yard. Some were eating and some were playing with the lawn game equipment. Ezra was amazed at the diversity in the family. He had been in Purgatorio many times before. Most of the families there were of Hispanic decent. It seemed like all of the other low income families had settled here,

Josiah and a man he recognized as tall thin man with graying brown hair he recognized as the youth center leader, Brad Milton were standing around the grill. Vin was leaning around one of the tables with a paper plate stacked full of food.

"I should have known this is the first place you would go," Ezra said rolling his eyes.

"Where else would I go?" Vin asked with a shrug of his shoulders. Ezra nodded a greeting to Josiah and turned to the other man.

"It's good to see you Ezra. It's been a long time." Brad said rubbing his greasy hand off on his apron and holding it out. Ezra shook it warmly.

"Too long my friend. It would seem like you are having success with your new center," Ezra swept his arms around the crowd.

"We have our good days and our bad," Brad answered honestly. "Fortunately, we've had a lot more good ones lately. I wasn't expecting such a high turnout otherwise I would have ordered more food."

"That must mean you're rising quite a bit of money for the center today then," Ezra answered. He noticed Brad go slightly red around the ears. Ezra glanced down at saw the almost empty tip jar.

"Brad insisted that people pay what they could for a meal," Josiah explained. Unfortunately most of them had nothing to give."

"It's enough that they are all associating with each other and out of the house," Brad answered.

"You are a saint my friend," Ezra answered. He pulled out his wallet. "I would to order a hamburger medium rare with just a dash of ketchup if you please. Oh, and also a side order of those scrumptious fries."

"Coming right up, Only the best for you, Ezra," Brad laughed as he flipped a hamburger onto a bun and placed it on a paper plate. Ezra opened up his wallet and placed a hundred dollar bill inside the jar.

"Ezra, that's too much, I can't accept that," Brad stated. I appreciate the gesture, but…. Ezra took the hamburger off the paper plate. He took a huge bite and made a visible display of showing his satisfaction.

"This could possibly be one of the best hamburgers I have ever had," he exclaimed after he had swallowed "I always believe in tipping well for good quality food and even better service."

"The kids and are very grateful Ezra, thank you," Brad said, smiling. Josiah emptied some fries of the deep fryer onto Ezra's plate. "I never got a chance to thank you all for taking charge of our hockey team as well. I hear that was all your idea Ezra."

"Well I…" Ezra stammered, not feeling comfortable with all the praise.

"I'll stop now though," Brad chuckled. "I can see I'm making you uncomfortable."

"Aww Brad just put a good word in for him with your lovely assistant and he'll be happy," Vin answered, putting his arm around Ezra's shoulder.

"Ellie?" Brad asked. "What would…"

"Ezra's got a crush on her," Josiah answered simply before Ezra could say anything.

"Josiah, I do not…"

"Good choice Ezra," Brad complimented. "She's a nice young woman. She's very hard working and very dedicated to the kids, but…." He paused.

"What is it?" Ezra asked, showing concern. Did the woman have some deep dark secret that he didn't know about? God only knew he had fallen for woman like that before.

"Well," Brad started. "I don't like to talk about other people, especially about my coworkers, but I think there's a lot more to Ellie Gordon than she wants people to know. She's…. What can I do for you Nick?"

The other three men jumped at the sudden change of subject. They all turned to see Nick Gordon standing right behind them.

"Brad, can I get some food for my sister? She hasn't working hard all afternoon and I don't think she's had a chance to eat yet. I don't think she'll eat unless someone makes her."

"Well that's awfully considerate of you Nick. Of course you should bring her a burger," Brad stated. He began fixing up a burger. At that moment another boy that none of them had seen before came rushing over.

"Nick, we can't hold up the basketball game anymore. Are you going to play or not?" The young teenager looked torn.

"I gotta bring this food to my sister," he answered. "You start the game without me."

"Nick, why don't you let me bring the food to Ellie," Ezra said. "Then you can go and play basketball."

"Really?" Nick asked.

"Really," Ezra responded.

"You still up for an extra player?" Vin asked the two boys. "A game of basketball sounds like fun."

"Are you as good at basketball as you are at hockey?" Nick asked.

"He's not too bad," a voice said behind them. They all turned and saw Chris walking towards them. "But he's a little too slow on his layups."

"Are you challenging me old man?" Vin asked his eyes narrowing.

"Maybe," Chris answered. The boys looked between the two men with glee.

"You both want to play?" the other boy asked. Chris slapped a twenty dollar bill on the table.

"Give me a hamburger Josiah and let's get going," Chris said. A few seconds later, Chris and Vin were following the two boys towards the court.

Ezra, Vin and Brad were left alone.

"Well it ain't exactly a bouquet of flowers," Vin stated. "But I think she'll like it. She's over there picking up the lawn darts by the way."

Ezra glanced over his shoulder and saw Ellie facing the opposite direction. He took a deep breath picked up his and Ellie's plates and walked towards her. She was so busy she didn't hear him approach.

"Surely someone as busy as you can take a break sometime," he stated. Ellie jumped before turning around. She smiled when she saw him.

"I come bearing gifts," he said, holding up the plate.

"That's thoughtful of you," she stated, taking the plate. "It's been so crazy these last few hours I haven't even thought about eating yet."

"That's what your little brother said," Ezra answered. "Unfortunately I can't take credit for bringing you the food idea. That was his. I am just finishing the job. Shall we sit somewhere to eat? Unless you prefer standing up?"

Ellie glanced at the tables that had been set out. Neither one of them could see an open space.

"How does right here look?" she laughed.

"What a delightful spot," Ezra answered, although he cringed inwardly at the idea of having to sit on the ground. He would never admit it to Vin, but he was glad he was not wearing one his nicer suits. Ellie dug into her hamburger and sighed in happiness.

"Brad does know how to make a good hamburger," she commented. "They have to be one of my favorite parts of moving to the US/."

Ezra was surprised that she had let the comment slip. From the few times he had talked to her, Ellie had been so guarded about revealing anything about herself.

"Do you not have hamburgers in Russia?" Ezra asked, deciding to play along. For a brief second, Ellie looked worried, but then she gave him a half smile.

"Is my accent really that bad?" she asked.

"No, it's barely recognizable," Ezra comforted. "If I were a common person on the street, I never would have figured it out. I just happen to make my living reading body language and picking up on things that people don't tell me with words. For instance, the Americanized version of you names. Ellie and Nic are short for Elena and Nicolai, am I correct?"

"You are," Ellie stated resignedly.

"And I've noticed that it doesn't matter how fluently we speak another language, traces of our native tongue always slip into our everyday language. When one swears, it usually reveals quite a bit. I caught you cursing in Russian a little bit ago."

"You speak Russian," Ellie asked surprised.

"Again its another tool that's useful in my line of work. The hostilities between our two countries may have decreased in recent years, but…"

"Believe me, there are plenty of people in Russia who still do not have favorable opinions of America," Elle answered.

"We have our fair share of people who don't care for our government as well," Ezra agreed.

"At least they are free to voice their opinion," Ellie stated. Some of the ids started yelling and she turned her head towards the basketball game.

Ezra thought about the woman's last comment. OF course Russia's oppression of freedom of speech was not a secret. He thought about Ellie's unwillingness to hare information about herself. She and Nick obviously hadn't come with much money or resources. He wondered what Ellie Gordon was running from.

There was more yelling and Ezra turned towards the game as well. Nick was dribbling down the court and a bigger stronger boy was about to block him. Vin reached across the boy's midsection and pulled him back. Nick easily scored causing his team to cheer.

"That wasn't fair," the other boy protested.

"You're right," Chris answered. He grabbed Vin's shoulder and pulled him over to grass. Before anyone knew what happened, both teams were engaged in a good natured wrestling match.

"I know Brad and I have thanked you before," Ellie said finally breaking the silence between them, "but I don't think you realize how much we appreciate your team and you coming here. The kids have so few adult make role models to look up to, and the fact that you in law enforcement…we'll it's a really big deal."

Ezra couldn't help but blush slightly.

So bac to you praise of the American hamburger," he pushed.

"I've traveled to many places around and many have tried, but none have been able to master the American ability to patty and grill beef," she laughed.

"I'll tell you what goes with a good old American hamburger," a voice boomed behind them, making them jump. "A good ole' American beer."

Josiah and Brad had walked up behind them.

"I know there is a no alcohol policy on the center's grounds," Josiah said looking at Brad and Ellie, "And I understand why, but after all that work I need a good beer. Either of you two care to join me?"

"I'd love to Josiah," but I've got to finish working…" Ellie started to say.

"Things are wrapping up here Ellie," Brad interrupted. " I can finish cleaning up and I'll get some of the older kids to help me."

"Nick…." Ellie protested.

"I'll take him home with me," Brad answered. "You can pick him up when you're done. You spend some time with people your own age." He paused for a second, 'although you might find the maturity level of our own kids a bit higher."

Josiah punched him lightly in the shoulder.

"Buck is at home sick," Ezra answered. "I can assure you only mature conversation and we will all be on your best behavior…"

There was a yelp and they all turned to see Chris and Vin still wrestling with the kids. Ezra rolled his eyes.

"Maybe we should rescue them?" Brad asked.

"They are loving it," Josiah answered. "Sometimes we all take ourselves too seriously. This is good for the soul. So can we count on your company Ellie?"

Ellie turned to look at Brad.

"If you're sure …" Ellie started to say.

"GO!" Brad ordered. "And don't worry about Nick."

"I'll go tell Nick what's going on," Ellie said, walking towards the pile.

Josiah whistled loudly and the wrestling match stopped. "Chris, Vin" he called making a motion with his head.

"Alright boys," Vin said pulling himself out of the pile. "I think you just about killed ole' Chris here. It's about time I get him home." Chris glared at him, put pulled him to his feet.

"Nick come here," Ellie called. Nick walked over to his older sister.

"Are you coming back?" one of the boys asked.

"Troy, these men are very busy and," Brad started to say.

"Sure we'll be back," Chris said looking at the group of boys. "We need you to keep us in shape."

"See you all soon?" Vin asked.

"Yeah," the boys chorused. Vin and Chris walked over to where Brad, Josiah and Ezra were standing.

"You really made those boys night," Brad said. "I'm sure I'll be hearing about this for a long time."

"When can we come back?" Vin asked with a laugh. Brad's face lit into a big smile.

"All of you are welcome here whenever you want," he answered.

"We're heading out for a beer," Josiah answered. "You in?"

"Beer sounds good," Vin answered.

"Ellie's coming too," Josiah nudged Ezra who had to take a step to the side. Ezra glared at him.

"Well Ezra…."

"Alright, I'm ready to go," Ellie said walking over to them. Vin got a guilty look on his face and he closed his mouth.

"Glad you decided to come Ellie," Chris said calmly. "You know any good places to go around here?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Well, this place is…quaint," Ezra stated as they walked into the tiny bar. He had already lowered his standards to make Inez's saloon one of his regular bars of his chose, but this was below even that. The place looked like it hadn't been updated since the eighties. There was one beat-up pool table in the middle. Four tables circled around it. Only one of the tables was occupied by what appeared to be construction workers off duty. At least it was clean.

"Well Ellie, I haven't seen you around here in a while," the bartender greeted. He was bald and looked like he would have made a good linebacker in his day. Now, what had once been muscle now disappeared. Still, this was a man that no one would want to run into in a dark alleyway.

"Hey Javier," Ellie said with a smile. "Javy's got two kids that come to the teen center. Selina plays on the hockey team." Ellie explained. "Javy, there are my friends…"

"I know who you are," the man interrupted good naturedly. "Selina hasn't stopped talking stopped talking about the hockey practice since Thursday." He shook hands with the men. "Any friend of Ellie is a friend of mine."

"You are quite a popular young lady," Josiah said to Ellie. Ellie shrugged her shoulders.

"She and Brad have done a lot for the kids around here," Javy stated. "There's a lot of bad people on this side of town, but there's a lot of good people too. Most people aren't willing to take the time to tell the difference. They did." He paused. "And from what I heard, you gentlemen are willing to too. Whatever you want tonight is one the house."

"That's a nice offer," Chris started to say, "but…"

"I insist," Javy answered menacingly. Nobody was going to argue with him.

"Three beers for all of us. Whatever you have on tap is fine," Vin said. "Ezra, what do you want?" Ezra doubted that Javy had his usual choice of spirits behind his bar.

"A beer sounds delightful," Ezra answered, mustering a brave face.

"The usual for you Ellie?" The bartender turned to the woman.

"Yup,"

Javy filled up four glasses than reached under the counter and pulled out a dark bottle with a white label.

"Is that what I think it is?" Ezra asked Ellie.

"If you're thinking its Stolichnaya Elit vodka that you are correct," she laughed. "I do enjoy hamburgers," she laughed. "But nothing beats the mother country for a smooth alcohol that packs a bunch."

"I don't normally carry this stuff here. My usual people don't normally ask for vodka and when they do its mixed with Coke or something else so it doesn't matter if I pour them the cheap stuff. This little lady, on the other hand, likes hers straight." He turned his head slightly and nodded a good bye as the other patrons left the bar. They were now the only ones inside.

"Anyone else want some?" she asked.

"Last time I drank Vodka I couldn't move the next morning," Josiah laughed. "But thanks for the offer." The others politely declined.

"Ezra?" Ellie asked, turning towards him.

"I would love some," Ezra responded. "Pour me a glass good sir." Javy reached behind the bar and brought up two of the largest shot glasses Ezra had ever seen. He felt his stomach get queasy as the bartender filled them both to the top. Ellie picked her hers up. Ezra did the same with a shaky hand.

"Cheers," she stated. The agents and the bartender picked up the beers and raised them, Ezra hesitated.

"What's wrong Ez?" Vin asked.

"I apologize, but I cannot take this shot. You will have to carry me out of this place if I do," he said feeling himself get red in the face. Ellie's laugh only made it worse.

"Oh Ezra," I'm sorry. I just sip it. I think it would kill you if you tried to drink all that straight right away.

Now everyone else started to laugh. Ezra had no choice but to join in.

"In that case," he said, raising his glass.

"Cheers,' they all said and clinked their glasses.

"This really is quite good Ellie," Ezra answered.

"You could say I'm a bit of an alcohol snob,' she answered. "I'm used to only drinking the best."

"You and Ezra will get along well then," Vin answered.

Just as they were about to sit down, the door to the bar flung open. A teenager rushed into the bar with a terrified look on his face. Ezra and Vin both recognized him as the youth that had escaped them earlier.

"Ellie I need to talk to you," the youth exclaimed. "There was…" he froze when he saw Ezra and Vin. "What's going on?"

"Conner, what are you doing inside a bar. You know better," Ellie scolded in a harsh voice. The teen did not answer right away. He was still looking warily at Ezra and Vin.

"We're not going to arrest you," Vin said, trying to calm the boy's nerves. "You've obviously got something important you want to tell Ellie so you might as well say it."

"We let your friend go," Ezra added when the boy still hesitated. That seemed to clam the boy.

"Ellie, I think there was a guy looking for you and Nick. He talked like you do and he was angry

He gave me a description that matched you and your brother. I'm pretty sure he was talking about you.

Ellie didn't answer right away. Her already pale skin had gone even whiter.

"This was the guy in the car from earlier?" Vin asked.

"Yeah," the boy answered. "The one who gave Mike the drugs." Now that the boy realized that he was not going to get into trouble, he was more than willing to talk.

Ezra saw what was about to happen, but he could do nothing to stop it. The shot glass slipped out of the young woman's hand and crashed to the ground.

"Ellie, why was Misha Lebedev looking for you?" Ezra asked. She didn't answer him. She acted like no one else was there.

"What did you tell him Conner?' she asked desperately.

"What do think?" Conner scoffed. " I don't share that kind of information with nobody I don't trust."

Ellie sighed in relief.

"You didn't give him your phone number or anyway to contact you?" she asked.

"Nope," Connor answered. "I made sure nobody else told him anything either."

"Good," Ellie stated. "I appreciate that and you coming and telling me what happened. Now I want you to home and tell everyone to stay away from where that car was for a while."

"What about you?" Connor asked. "If that bastard is trying to hurt you or Nick…." He growled.

"I promise I'll call you if I need any help," Ellie answered. "Now get out of here before I have these cops arrest you," she laughed, but there was an edge to her voice. The boy eyed the agents nervously as he walked out the door.

"Ellie…" Ezra started to say.

"Have to go get Nick and get out of here before he finds us," she mumbled to herself. It was if she had forgotten the others were there.

"Ellie!" Ezra said loudly. This time he grabbed hold of her right wrist. He was caught completely off guard when she twisted his arm back. The pain in his arm erupted and she started to see stars. He was forced to let go to keep conscious. When his vision cleared a few seconds later, she was looking at him with a terrified and apologetic look.

"I'm so sorry Ezra. I didn't mean to hurt you, but I have too…."

"You're not going anywhere until you explain what's going on," Josiah said gently, but firmly. He reached out and put his hands on Ellie's shoulders. For a brief second, Ellie looked like she was going to try and escape. He thought about the move she had just used on him. Only someone with martial arts training would know how to do that. Ellie had the look of a caged animal on her face and it was slightly terrifying.

"Relax," he told her." He was worried about Josiah's safety. "Let us help you. I promise we won't let anything happen to Nick, but you have to relax," he said calmly and comforting.

It was a few seconds before Ezra seemed to comprehend what he was saying. He watched as the wild look left her eyes. It was replaced by one of resignation. Her whole body still remained tense.

"I'm okay Josiah," she said. "I'm not going anywhere. Josiah looked at her for a second then let go.

"Ellie what the hell is…" Chris started to say.

"Please," she pleaded. "I will explain everything, I promise. But first I need to get to Nick. I need to make sure that he okay.

"How about I go pick him up from Brads?" Josiah suggested. "Would that make you feel better?"

"I'd really appreciate it," Ellie said, looking at him thankfully. Josiah got an embarrassed look on his face.

"I don't know where…"

"I do," Javy said, saying his first words in a long time. "I'll come with you.." He walked over to the cash register and pulled out two keys. He handed one to Chris.

"This is the extra key," he explained. "I'm going to lock the door behind me." He put a hand on Ellie's shoulder.

"I don't know what kind of trouble you are in sweetheart, but you and Nick are part of this community. Like Connor said, we protect or own in these parts."

"Thanks Javy," Ellie answered, forcing a smile on her face. The big man gently squeezed her shoulder before following Josiah out the door.

"You've got nothing to worry about, "Vin laughed. "Nobody's going to mess around with Nick when those two giants are with him."

Ellie showed no reaction. She was staring at something on the wall in her own little world. She sat down heavily in the chair. Chris reached for Ezra's shot of vodka and set it down in front of her.

"Drink," he ordered. Ellie picked it up and with shaking hands and took an impressive gulp. In a few seconds, the alcohol had its intended effect. Her hands stopped shaking and she appeared slightly calmer.

"What do you want to know?" she asked.

"How about you start with why a drug lord is looking for you and your brother?" Chris answered. Ezra thought for a moment about the limited information that he knew about the woman.

"You are trying to hide from him aren't you?" he asked.

Ellie set her head down in her hand and looked down at the table.

"He's my uncle," she stated unemotionally. She looked at the men before continuing. "He and my father worked for the Soviet government for a long time. Misha had him and my stepmother killed because they knew too much. I'm sure that's why he's after my brother and I as well."

Ellie's statement left Ezra at a temporary loss for words. Judging by the look on his friend's faces, they were just as confused as confounded as he was.

"My family's history is so linked to the tragic history of Russia, that's almost impossible not to describe the two of them together," she said with a half smile. "And that is quite a long story,"

"We're not going anywhere." Chris told her, reaching for his beer and taking a drink. Ellie took a small sip from her own drink and began talking.

"My father and uncle were recruited into the KGB as teens by Nikita Khrushchev himself."

"How did they…" Chris started to say.

"My grandfather had met Khrushchev during World War II on the Eastern Front. He was a low ranking officer and Khrushchev served as commissar. The two became very good friends. My grandfather died of some disease. Obviously, Khrushchev survived. After the war, he hired my pregnant grandmother as secretary and he took special interest in her sons when they were born. He almost became like a father to them. Khrushchev's own son had been supposedly shot down during the war."

"Supposedly?" Vin asked.

"There are rumors that the son defected to the Germans and Stalin had him shot when they caught him despite Khrushchev's pleas," Ezra stated, knowing the story. "But there was never any proof."

"Proof has a funny way of disappearing in Russia," Ellie said darkly. "Whatever happened, Khrushchev took an instant liking to the boys and got them involved in the security organization. They both instantly rose through the ranks and were involved in counter intelligence during the Cold War. My dad often boasted about how he had been adopted by the French people while still feeding information to the Kremlin."

"Were they responsible for arresting civilians as well?" Chris asked rather coldly. He knew that the original and real purpose of the KGB had been to root out and oppress political dissent.

"Not at first," Ellie stated. "Khrushchev was somewhat lax on freedom of speech. It was much better than it had been under Stalin. Not many realize that Khrushchev, although still a ruthless dictator, had began making some positive reforms .Besides my father and Misha served with the First Chief Directorate which was in charge of espionage. All that changed when Yuri Andropov was put in charge. He began bringing back many of Stalin's old policies. Authors began disappearing, artists died under unusual circumstances. Hell, if he had stayed in power any longer, I wouldn't have been surprised if the Gulags started showing up again." The men could feel the anger rising in her voice. I remember whole families just disappearing…." She stopped and forced herself to take a deep breath before continuing.

"At this point my father was looking for ways to get out of the KGB. The signs of the Soviet collapse were all over and he wanted nothing more than move to the West. You see while in France he had a met a beautiful Romanian woman who had defected to Paris, got her pregnant, and was now in love her and with his baby daughter. This was not the case with my uncle. He quickly rose through the ranks and was known for his ruthlessness. When I was older, I heard stories that he never married a woman because he was in love with the KGB.

"My father was planning to stay permanently in France with his family , but that was never going to happen. You see my mother had been a plot by Misha to get my father to stay. My father never believed in Mother Russia the way my uncle did and was he was considered a liability As soon as my father threatened not to move back, she ran to Misha and deposited me with him. I was basically held hostage until my father was forced to move back to Russia."

"What?" The men asked at the same time.

"What kind of woman would take her child and…" Chris thought it had been Adam…He shook his head to get rid of the thought.

"You mean to say that your mother…." Vin asked.

"She never really cared about me," Ellie stated, sadness evident in her voice. "She lied to my father and I for four years and as soon as Misha asked, she turned me over and took her money. I haven't seen or heard from her since."

"I still don't understand how someone could just betray their family," Vin stated.

"It was a strange mentality back then Vin," Ezra explained. "A true communist believed that their main loyalty was to the state. Nothing else really mattered. Am I right?" he asked Ellie. Her lack of response was the answer he needed.

"I lived with Misha while my father was forced to work in Hungry. I was returned with a promise that I would be taken again no matter where he tried to run. We didn't really have much to worry about once my father returned from working in the Eastern Block. The Communist government was a mess and they spent more time working on its survival then spying on other countries. My father even met and fell in love with another woman, Katiya. She became the mother I never had. Not long after Nick was born." Here Ezra noticed her voice lightened. "Those were the best years of my life."

"My father thought about staying. He wanted to be part of the rebuilding of Russia. He thought there was a future for us. After everything that it had been through, Russia was going to achieve a glory it never had before," she smiled at the idea, then shook her head. "He couldn't have been more wrong. Freedom of opinion and speech was in illusion Papers with dissenting opinions were allowed to exist, but life was so unbearable for those that managed to speak out, that they either shut up or moved out the country. Under the masquerade of Democracy, old communist leaders began sneaking into positions of government. Those who didn't make it to government started their own businesses and became millionaires through corruption. They started telling the government what to do."

None of what Ellie was saying was new to the men. This part of history they were all aware of. They had dealt with Russian crime lords masquerading as businessmen before.

"And your Uncle?" Chris pushed.

"He had skills and a work ethic that were valued by all. He worked for whoever would pay him the most money. Sometimes he worked for the government. Sometimes for the a business or the mob. Often times he played them against each other."

"And now?" Vin asked.

"I haven't had any contact with him since Nick and I ran way," Ellie answered. "I have no idea what he's involved in now."

"You mentioned that your father and stepmother were murdered," Ezra stated. A pained expression filled Ellie's face. Ezra reached out and put his hand on yours. "I'm sorry to bring it up, but…"

"No, it's an important part of the story," she stated. "My father realized his mistake shortly after. After what he had done for the soviets, he knew that no country would willingly take us in. He secretly started searching for foreign governments that would give my family asylum in exchange for information. It seemed like the Germans were willing to take us in when….." she stopped and gulped. Ezra squeezed her hand, hoping to give her confidence to continue. "The explosion happened when I was gone and Nick was staying at a friend's house. Nobody knows if they died in the explosion or the fire afterwards, but by the time I got home there was nothing left by their charred bodies."

"Where were you?" Vin asked.

"What?" Ellie asked caught off guard by the question.

"You mentioned that Nick was at a friend's house. I was just wondering where you were.."

"Well I was, umm I was still at school in France," Ellie stuttered. Ezra thought is strange that such an easy question would trip Ellie up, but he decided it must be the stress of telling the story. Apparently Chris thought the same way. His eyebrows scrunched up like he wanted to ask more, but decided against it.

"What happened after that?" he asked. Apparently Chris had decided to drop the subject.

"I knew right away who had set the fire," Ellie answered. "I don't know if MIsha was afraid what my father would tell about him or if he was hired by someone to set the explosion, but I knew that Nick and I were a liability. I ran to Germany,…." She paused as if she wasn't sure what to say. "They were not much help there. Nick and I have been hiding and running from Misha for the last two and half years. So far we've always managed to stay one step ahead of him…until now."

"Now you see why I need to get out of here. If Misha finds me, he will kill me. I don't know what he'll do to Nick, but I'm not willing to find out."

"Where did you get the last name Gordon?" Vin asked.

"Fake passports," Ellie answered. "I suppose you have an obligation to the law so to arrest me for that."

'Not necessarily," Ezra said, looking at Chris. Chris looked like he was deep in thought.

"Ellie, some things that you are saying just don't….."

He didn't get the chance to finish his sentence. There was a knock on the door. Chris walked over to open it and Nick came barreling in straight at Ellie.

"Ellie what's wrong?" Nick asked. "You are as white as a ghost. You are never scared, the only thing is…." He stopped and his one face turned white. "He's here isn't it?"


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

"It's okay Nick," Ellie hugged Nick. Her relief was evident to everyone who saw the two.

"Where did Javy go?" Vin whispered to Josiah as Josiah walked inside.

"His wife called. He says that he's got a bunch of extra keys so just leave one on the bar and he'll get it in the morning. Somebody should drop off the one we lock up with back here sometime, but there's no rush," the older man answered.

"Do they about…" Nick started to say when he finally let go of Ellie. He eyed the men wearily.

"I told them everything they need to know," Ellie said sharply. Nick looked surprised and hurt. The men looked at Ellie with surprise. None of them had ever heard her use such a sharp tone before.

"'I'm sorry Nick," she sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder. I'm just a little worried, that's all. We're going to be okay. I've always taken care of you right? Nothing bad has happened to us?" Ezra could see that she was forcing the smile and calm tone in her voice. Apparently it worked on Nick, because the teen seemed to relax. "Whatever happens, our uncle is never going to hurt you."

"Are we going to have to move again?" Nick asked. His eyes grew side when the thought finally hit him "Please say no Ellie! I have never complained about moving before, but I really like it here. I have lots of friends! I know the people here will help us…"

The look on Nick's face almost broke Ezra's heart. What little bit of that was left was definitely torn when he saw Ellie's pained expression.

"I'm so sorry Nick. I like it here too. We have met nice people, but we can't stay. You aren't old enough to realize how dangerous Misha can be. He would hurt all the people that we care about just to find us. We can't ask the our friends to do that for us."

"Why not?" Ezra asked, surprising himself.

"What?" Ellie asked looking up. She seemed to have forgotten that there were other people in the room.

"I don't know what your definition of a friend is, but last time I checked, friends are supposed to look out for one another. It sure seems like the people here want to help you."

"I can't expect them to take on Misha," Ellie answered. "None of them are prepared to deal with a man like my uncle. I could never forgive myself if one of them got hurt.

"Then you should be glad that you have friends like us who are trained ot deal with men like you uncle," Josiah answered. Ellie looked at Josiah as if he had just offered her a suitcase full of a million dollars. The pleasure quickly disappeared.

"I couldn't expect you to do that for me," She answered.

"Ellie, you are forgetting that we are ATF agents," Chris answered. "Catching men like your uncle is part of our job." He paused and looked at Ezra and Vin. "In fact we are already building up a case against and have information on your uncle."

"Really?" Ellie asked, intrigued.

"The DEA has been following your uncle's movements through the US and have traced him here. He's on our radar and as soon as we have enough evidence against him, we'll arrest him and make sure he's locked away in a cell forever. He won't bother you and Nick and again."

Vin looked over Ezra's shoulder and raised his eyebrows. It had only been a few hours ago, when Chris had been complaining about having to work the DEA case and was looking for whatever reason to get out of it. Now he was acting like it was their case. Ezra smiled. Chris may like to pretend that he could not be swayed by a pretty face, but he could be just as chivalrous as any of them when he perceived there was a damsel in distress.

Ellie didn't answer right away. She seemed to be thinking. Nick grabbed Ellie's hand.

"Pleas Ellie," he pleaded. "I'm tired of running. I want to have a normal life. If we leave now, we're just going to have keep running!"

Ellie looked at Nick and then she met Ezra's eyes. He tried to give the most reassuring smile he could. It seemed to do the trick.

"Alright," she answered. "But I don't want Nick or I involved in anyway. We won't be witnesses or…."

"We'll keep you out of it," Ezra said quickly. Apparently too quickly for Chris's liking, because he glared at Ezra.

"You've told us everything that you know?" he asked. They all saw Ellie hesitate. "Everything that we can use against your uncle?" This last question made Ellie relax.

"I told you everything," She answered calmly.

"There are some things that make me nervous," Josiah stated. "I know you have friends here Ellie and most of them wouldn't betray you. But if Misha pokes around long enough, he's going to find out something about you."

"Nick and I can take care of ourselves," Ellie responded. "We've been doing it for a long time."

"And you've done a great job," Ezra answered. "But you don't need to do it anymore. Remember you're not alone in this. I would feel better if someone with a gun is able to watch you until we find Misha."

"Ellie knows how to…" Nick started to say, but Ellie silenced him with a glare.

"What do you have in mind?" she asked, eying them all suspiciously.

"How would you feel about having one us keep an eye for a while?" Chris asked. "Until we can figure things out?"

"You mean like a surveillance team?" Ellie asked. "I would tell you that I'm not too keen on the idea. Las time I checked, it wasn't the two of us who were under suspicion." Her voice had lost his congenial tone.

"Of course you aren't," Ezra answered. "But this is for your own safety." He could see that his words weren't having any effect. "Tell me Ellie, were you planning on sleeping at all until Misha is caught?"

Her nonresponsive was her answer. "Wouldn't you feel better knowing that someone is watching your house while you are sleeping, keeping an eye on Nick at school? Watching your back so you can keep your eyes forward?"

Ellie was still not completely convinced, although her face was softening.

"You won't even know we are there," Vin said. "We're very good at what we do and have had lots of practice. If you want to talk to talk to us you can. Otherwise ignore us and we won't bother yo u."

Ellie turned to look at Chris.

"I don't really have much say in this matter anyway do I?" she asked. Chris half smiled.

"No, not really,' he answered calmly.

"Fine," Ellie sighed. "But I don't want you intruding in Nick and my lives."

"Agreed," Chris said. "This is for your own protection Ellie. We'll start tonight." He looked around the room. "Ezra, you want to take first watch?"

"If you are okay with it," Ezra said looking at Ellie. She shrugged her shoulders.

"Like I said earlier, I don't think I have much say," She stated. "I don't recommend using that fancy car of yours for surveillance though. You are going to stand out like a sore thumb."

Ezra hadn't thought about that.

"Take my truck Ezra," Vin said, "you'll fit right in."

"No doubt about that," Ezra scoffed. "But the idea of my car parked in front of your apartment all night is…"

"Take my truck then," Chris said, rolling his eyes. "I'll meet you at Ellie's house around 6 and we can switch places. "Sound good?"

Ezra was not happy with leaving his car in anyone's position, even though Chris was one of the few people he trusted with it. Still he saw that there were not a whole lot of options.

"You still got an extra? Chris asked. Ezra held up his key ring in confirmation. He turned to look at Ellie.

"Would you like to stay or are you ready to go home?" he asked.

"I think it's time to go home," Ellie answered with very little emotion.

"About your own car…" Ezra started to say.

"We don't live far from the Center," Ellie stated. "Nick and I walked over."

"Then I'll drive you home," Ezra offered.

"Ez, that duffle bag of clothes is in your car if you want to change," Vin offered.

"Do you mind if we make a bit stop?" Ezra looked at Ellie. Again, she shrugged her shoulders and didn't look at him.

"Alright, let's go then," Ezra said awkwardly.

"Good night," Josiah said. "We will be seeing each other soon."

"Good night Josiah, Good night everyone," Nick said, eying Ellie nervously. He was picking up on her bad mood.

"Good night," everyone else chorused.

Ezra walked over to the big black truck and unlocked it manually. Once he opened the other door, Ellie slid into the front and Nick in the backseat. Neither one of them said anything. Ezra quickly turned on the truck to avoid the uncomfortable silence.

As soon as he turned on the truck, the sound of a twangy guitar and a deep baritone drawl erupted through the truck's interior. Three simultaneous groans attempted to drawn out the offending noise. Ezra quickly reached down and turned the music down.

"Not a fan of country music I take it?" he laughed. Elle laughed as well.

"If you can call that racket music," she answered. Ezra was glad to see that she was smiling. Her mood seemed to have lightened.

"That stuff sure isn't music," Nick said from the backseat. Ezra slowly eased the truck out of the small parking lot.

"And what kind of music do you like to listen to Nick?" Ezra asked as he pulled out onto the street.

"I don't know, I'm not picky," Nick answered. "Little bit of hip-hop, sometimes rap…"

"More racket," Ellie answered, rolling her eyes. "Our parents poured lots of money into your piano lessons so you would develop into a cultured person."

"Mozart and all that classic stuff is fine," Nick said, "when you want to do homework or something, but have you ever tried to dance with a girl to Tchaikovsky's Fourth Sympathy? It doesn't really work."

Ezra and Ellie both laughed.

"Point taken," Ellie laughed.

"You used to play the violin?" Ezra asked Nick. The teen center was now in view.

"Back in Russia," Nick answered.

"He's pretty good," Ellie answered.

"Well I was," Nick answered. "I haven't been able to practice in a whole."

Ezra didn't need to ask why. Piano lessons were expensive in the US and he doubted that they had been anywhere long enough for Nick to start. Even if they were, Ezra knew Piano lessons were expensive and he doubted that Ellie had the money to pay for them.

"Well, how about you find something that we all like," Ezra stated. He pulled next to his car. "I'll be right back." He quickly got out of car and retrieved his bag. When he returned, he heard the voice of a sports commentator.

"What's the score?" he asked.

"Avalanche 1, Blackhawks zero. There's only a few minutes left," Nick answered. As they listened to the rest of the game, Ellie gave directions to Ezra.

"That's our house right there," Ellie said, just as the buzzer on the game went off. The score had not changed. Ezra looked over at the house. It was dark, but a streetlight just outside of the tiny front yard illuminated the front. It looked like a tiny white box. He could see the paint was chipping away and the roof could use some major work. There was only a tiny dirt path where the driveway should have been so Ezra pulled up along the street.

"Well, here you are," he said awkwardly. "Have a good night. I'll be in this truck right around the corner watching to make sure everything is alright. Nick jumped out of the car. Ellie did too, but turned around before she slammed the door shut. She sighed heavily.

"It's going to be cold out tonight," she stated.

"Don't worry about me," Ezra said. "I have a very tough disposition. This isn't my first stake-out." He tried to sound brave, but he was not looking forward to spending the night in the car. "I make a quick run to get some coffee, but…."

"I'm sorry I was so rude inside," Ellie said quickly. "I really appreciate what you and your friends are doing for Nick and I, It's been so long since I've been offered help by anyone that….."

"It's our pleasure and our job," Ezra answered.

"No," Ellie said shaking her head. "I know you are going above and beyond what is expected of you," she paused and looked behind her. Nick was standing on the small slab of a porch. "I can't offer you much, but I can at least offer you a couch to sleep on," all of a sudden she looked embarrassed. "if you want it, of course."

Ezra was taken back.

"I don't want you to feel obligated that you have to…."

"I don't feel obligated, it's just that….

"because part of our job is…."

"I want you to know…."

"Ellie, I'm cold!" Nick's complaint stopped them both. They stared at each for a second without saying anything.

"Well are you coming?" Ellie asked with a smile.

"It would be a pleasure," Ezra answered, opening the front door of the truck. He grabbed the duffle bag and followed Ellie into the house.

The inside of the house was exactly what he had been expecting when he had seen the exterior. He had walked into the living room which took up most of the space. There was an old carpet that was fraying where it met the walls, and the stucco on the walls was beginning to crack. A hole in the wall next to a doorway led into the kitchen. There were three doors along the other side of the living room which Ezra assumed led to the bedrooms and the bathroom. There wasn't much inside other than the essential pieces of furniture. What was there looked old and worn.

"Welcome to our home," Ellie said, sweeping her arms around. Ezra could hear the hint of embarrassment in her voice.

"It's lovely," he answered quickly. Ezra gave him a skeptical look, but her smile told him that she appreciated the gesture.

"Nick, maybe you should…"

"Ellie, it's only ten o 'clock! I'm not going to bed yet," the teen stated. "Can we watch a movie?"

"Ezra, would you like to…" Ellie said turning to him.

"Whatever you would like to do is fine with me," Ezra answered. "I don't want to intrude in anything." Ezra realized how ridiculous this last statement was based on the small size of the house. There really wasn't anywhere for him to go. Ezra looked at the old TV behind him, but didn't see a DVD player anywhere.

"I'll get the laptop," Nick said excitedly. He ran into the kitchen and came back with a key. He walked over to the cabinet below the TV, unlocked it, and carried a black laptop over to the coffee table like it was some sort of holy relic.

"I won it in a math competition a few months ago," Nick said as he plugged it in.

"A gifted piano player and a math genius?" Ezra asked. "You must really be talented. Nick attempted to shrug off the comment like it meant nothing, but Ezra could tell his comment pleased him.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Ellie asked. "Coffee or maybe…."

"Coffee sounds lovely right now," Ezra answered.

"One coffee coming right up," Ellie answered, turning towards the kitchen. A sudden thought flashed through Ezra's mind.

"Wait!" he said quickly. Ellie turned to look at him. "With only a small portion of sugar please." Ellie gave him a confused look and then she started to laugh.

"You know my people to well," she said.

"I have met many Russian and Eastern Europeans over my lifetime," Ezra explained. "They've all had different temperaments and personalities, but they have had one thing in common. The y all like their coffee sickenly sweet."

"I will go light on the sugar," Ellie promised. "Do you want something to drink Nick?" she asked.

"I'll have some coffee too?" Nick asked, eying Ellie. The woman shook her head.

"What was Papa's rule?"

"No coffee until I'm sixteen," he answered resignedly. "Fine, I'll have some Coke."

"What's my rule?" Ellie asked again.

"No soda after nine," Nick responded, rolling his eyes. "Fine, I'll have a glass of orange juice."

"Good choice," Elle said. "Ezra, would you like to take a shower?"

Ezra was taken back for a second. Then he realized what a mess he must look like. Despite the bareness of the house, it was clean. He realized that Ellie probably didn't want him inside her house looking like that.

"I apologize for…."

"What are you apologizing for?" Ellie asked. "You haven't looked comfortable all night. I just thought that you would maybe like to clean off to feel more comfortable."

Ezra paused.

"I would very much like to take a shower. Thank you."

"Everything you need should be in the bathroom. The towels are on the bottom shelf." Fifteen minutes later he emerged from the bathroom in his jeans and polo feeling much better. Ellie and Nick were both sitting on the couch and changed into sweatpants. It was the first time he had seen Ellie with her hair down. There was a slight wave as it fell just below her shoulders.

"Do you feel better?" Ellie asked, not looking at him. She knew he was staring at her. Ezra quickly averted his gaze.

"Yes, thank you." He saw a mug of coffee sitting on the coffee table. " IS this for me?" he asked. He picked it up and took a sip. "It's perfect." The laptop was open on the coffee table and Nick was looking at him expectantly with a bowl of popcorn in his lap.

"What are we going to watch?" Ezra asked.

"It's an old western that Brad gave to me. He said it's really good. It's got John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart in it I think," Nick answered.

"It wouldn't be The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance would it?" Ezra asked, sitting down in the chair.

"Yeah, that's what it's called!" Nick exclaimed. "Is it okay, if you've already seen it…"

"The movie is one of the gems of the American film industry. It is a pleasure to watch it again.

A problem was soon discovered by all three. The computer screen was too small for Ezra to see from his location on the chair. Ellie looked at him a bit nervously. Then she smiled. She punched Nick lightly in the shoulder.

"Scoot over," she told him. They both sifted over so Ezra could have the edge of the couch. Nick jumped up and turned off the lights and started the movie. At first, he felt slightly uncomfortable being so close. Although he couldn't see her face, he could sense that she felt the same as well. She stayed pretty close to her younger brother. Over the course of the movie, he started to relax. Ellie began shifting a little bit more to his side of the couch. He let himself escape into the small frontier town of Shinbone and gratefully accepted the bowl of popcorn that was passed his way.

About half way through the movie, he watched Ellie's head droop onto the side of the couch.

"She doesn't like westerns very much," Nick said before returning his attention to the movie. A few seconds later he felt pressure on his shoulder. Ellie's head had plopped down. It was a pleasant feeling.

The movie ended and Ezra turned on the lamp while Nick turned the computer off.

"That was a great movie," Nick said. "I don't know who I like better, Ransom or Tom. I think that…." He stopped when he saw Ellie asleep on Ezra's shoulder. A strange look crossed his face. Ezra waited patiently as the boy sorted out his emotions. Eventually, a smile lit up his face.

"I think she really likes you," he whispered. "That's good she doesn't have many friends her own age. She's always too busy worrying about me." A look of guilt crossed over his face.

"You know that she loves you very much," Ezra said. "And older sisters are supposed to worry about their younger brothers. It goes with job description."

"I'm going to go to bed," Nick yawned. "Good night Ezra."

"Good night," Ezra answered. He was content just to sit for a while, glad that he had received the youth's approval. He looked down at the sleeping woman. There was a peacefulness and restfulness in her face that he hadn't seen before. His arm started to tingle, but he put up with the pain for as long as he could. Eventually though, it became unbearable. Regretfully, he gently lifted up his shoulder. Ellie was startled awake. "I'm sorry to wake you up."

For a brief second, Ellie look confused. Then she realized what had happened.

"My God Ezra, I'm sorry! I didn't realize…."

"It was a pleasure being your pillow," Ezra responded smiling. Ellie rubbed her eyes.

"Where's Nick?' she asked.

"He went to bed a little while ago. I suggest you do the same. You look exhausted.

"I am," Ellie admitted. "I'll be right back." She got off the couch and emerged with a pillow and two blankets. She looked at the couch sadly.

"I know it isn't much, but…"

"It will nicely," Ezra answered. "And it sure beats having to stay out in the truck."

"If you get cold…."

"Don't worry about me Ellie. Go and get some sleep."

Ellie didn't answer right away. She looked nervously at the door. Ezra walked over to the duffle bag and took out his gun. He made a show of setting it down the coffee table.

"And don't worry about it," he said, knowing he didn't need to clarify. Ellie smiled at him.

"Thank you," she said. "Despite everything, I had a good night."

"Me too," Ezra answered. He hesitated before leaning over and kissing her on the cheek. "One of the best in a while in fact."

He was glad to see Ellie blush before she turned and walked towards the bedroom. Ezra leaned back onto the couch, feeling quite content with the world at that moment.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Ezra was sitting in the first row waiting for the orchestra to begin paying its first piece. The conductor raised his baton to begin. The first few notes of Handel's 94th Symphony were truly heaven, but the "surprise" note a few bars a few notes in made him fall out of his seat.

The undercover agent opened his eyes and realized that he was lying on the floor. The offensive music was coming from his cell phone that he had placed on the coffee table a few hours ago. He hadn't intended on falling asleep. He picked it up.

"Hello?" he answered groggily, not bothering to check the Caller ID.

"Where the hell are you?" A familiar voice cursed. "Are you alright?"

"What?" Ezra asked, still trying to get his bearings.

"I'm outside of Ellie Gordon's house right now. I see my truck and you are not in it!" Chris growled. Ezra didn't answer right away. It took him a few second to get his bearings and figure out where he was. Then the events of the previous evening dawned on him. He was in Ellie's house.

"Oh Good Morning Chris," he said, trying to sound cheerful. "I was actually invited in for the evening and…"

"You're inside her house right now?" Chris's angry and worried tone turned to amusement.. "She was pretty angry when you left last night."

"We bonded over bad country music," Ezra answered, rubbing a tired hand over his face. Chris's tone was grating on her nerves. "She was nice enough to not want me to spend the cold night in the truch and…."

"I don't need any more details Ezra," Chris interrupted.

"Mr. Larabee, if you think that I would…."

"Are you ready to switch places or not," Chris asked.

"Ummm…" Ezra stuttered.

"How about this? I've some errands I need to run and then I'll get some breakfast. I'll be back around ten."

"That sounds like a perfect plan," Ezra stated.

"That will give you enough time to…." Chris started to say. Ezra did not need for his boss to ocntinue.

"I would expect this kind of behavior from Buck and Vin, but from a man who usually holds himself with such high esteem."

"A man's only human," Chris laughed. "I take it there were no problems last night?"

"None," Ezra answered.

"Alright, I'll see you in a few hours," Chris said, hanging up the phone.

Ezra got up from his awkward position on the floor and sat back on the couch. He doubted he would be able to fall back asleep. He looked at the closed bedroom doors and a sudden idea occurred to him. He walked into the kitchen and began searching through the cupboards. He smiled. Everything that he needed was here.

Half an hour later, Ezra was just finishing the pancake batter. He watched as one of the doors opened and Nick emerged, sluggishly walking into the living room. Ezra chuckled quietly at the teen's crazy bed hair and his unsteady gate.

"Good morning Mr. Gordon," Ezra greeted.

"What are you doing?" Nick asked, as he shuffled into the kitchen.

"I thought I would make some pancakes and scrambled eggs for breakfast," he explained, dumping the first ladle full of batter into a frying pan. "Do you approve?"

"Yeah," Nick yawned. "It's just normally nobody makes breakfast. We just usually eat cereal or something. There isn't time before school during the week and Ellie says her one treat to herself is to sleep in on the weekends."

I'm starting to like her more and more," Ezra laughed. "Would you like to help?"

"Sure," Nick said, with a little more enthusiasm. 'What do you want me to do?"

"You can make the scrambled eggs," Ezra stated. Nick gave him a confused look.

"Ummmm, I don't know how,' he said embarrassed. Ezra was taken back for a second. Who didn't know how to make scrambled eggs? But then again, Nick was only thirteen.

"Go get the eggs in the fridge and I will tell you what to do," Ezra said. He began giving directions as he finished cooking his pancakes. They were coming out golden brown and almost perfectly curricular. He was quite proud of himself. :I think these will be quite delicious with butter and syrup," Ezra stated.

"We don't have any syrup," Nick said dejectedly. "Like I said Ellie doesn't cook a lot of breakfast food."

Ezra thought a moment. He had taken for granted that there would be syrup in He looked at his masterpieces and could not imagine eating them without syrup. A sudden idea occurred to him, but then he quickly dismissed it. It was likely to get him a lot of trouble. Then he thought of something else.

"Nick would you go into the living room and get my cell phone?" Nick walked into the living room and returned with the phone. "I want you to dial Chris Larabee's number which is the first speed dial. Ask him to please bring over some syrup."

"Can I do that?" Nick asked suspiciously. :He's not going to get mad?"

"Nonsense," Ezra answered cheerfully. "He'll be more than happy to help us." He made sure that none of his own reservations came across in this voice. He watched as Nick dialed the number than put the phone to his ear. He listened to the one sided conversation.

"Hello Mr. Larabee, this is Nick….No nothing's wrong…Ezra's making pancakes for breakfast, but we don't have any syrup…Yeah…Okay." Nick took the phone away from his ear. "He says he'll be here in a little bit."

Ezra let out a loud sigh. His assumption had been correct. He knew that his leader wouldn't turn the youth down. He handed Nick a clean frying pan for the eggs. He put the pancakes in the oven to stay warm and walked over to start the coffee pot. He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. He knew that he was being watched. He raised his head sharply to look into the living room.

Ellie was leaning against the wall with an amused look on her face. She had pulled her hair back into a ponytail and looked more awake than her younger brother had.

"What are you doing?" she chucked. "It sure smells good."

"Ezra and I are making breakfast," Nick answered excitingly. He lifted up some of the half cooked eggs to show her.

"I'm impressed," Ellie said. "I've been trying to get him to help me cook for years and he just won't do it."

"That's cause you yell at me whenever I do something wrong," Nick exclaimed. "Ezra's nice about it."

"Here, let me help," she said starting to walk forward. Ezra held up his hand to stop her.

"You have a seat Ms. Gordon. This breakfast is being prepared by Nick and myself. "

"But…" Ellie protested.

"No buts," Ezra said sternly. "You have a seat and your meal will be delivered to you shortly." Ellie was about to sit down on the couch when the doorbell rang. She got up to open the door before Ezra could say anything.

"Chris what are you doing here?" she asked. Ezra walked into the kitchen and saw his boss standing in the doorway with a plastic bottle in his hand.

"Somebody ordered some syrup," Chris stated. "I'll be waiting until Ezra is ready to leave."

"Don't be ridiculous," Ellie stated. "Come in and have some breakfast." She stopped and looked at Ezra. "Am I allowed to invite guests?"

"We are here to serve," Ezra said, bowing at the waist.

"Ezra, why are the eggs smoking?" Nick shouted from the kitchen. Both Ellie and Ezra made a dash for the kitchen. Chris caught Ezra by the shoulder. When Ellie was in the kitchen, Chris shoved the syrup into Ezra's chest and glared at him.

"Don't think I don't see through your game Standish, getting the kid to call me?"

"Mr. Larabee, I swear that…"

"Don't think about doing it again," He answered, before letting him go and bending over to take off his shoes. "Pancakes smell good," he stated before walking into the house.

Ellie and Nick had sorted out the problem with the eggs and despite Ezra's wishes, began taking dishes out of the shelves. Nick brought the kitchen chairs into the living room and within a few minutes everyone was sitting around enjoying the meal.

"My compliments to the chef," Ellie said, looking over at Ezra. Ezra nodded his head.

"It was no problem," Ezra answered.

"Didn't even know that you knew how to make breakfast food Ezra. You are never up early enough to make it," Chris stated, talking a sip of his coffee. "So what do you normally do on Sundays Nick?" he asked. The kid looked over at Ellie and sighed.

"Homework," he answered. "Ellie says that I can have Friday nights and Saturdays off, but if I have to get everything ready for school if I want to do anything fun on Sundays."

"Don't make it sound like you're in the gulag kid," Ellie growled, but her tone was good tempered. "You've always been done early enough to watch football with your friends." Everyone noticed the hint of disgust when she mentioned football.

"You like Football?" Chris asked Nick. The kid nodded his head enthusiastically.

'Not as much as hockey, but year. Ellie doesn't like it though."

"To be honest, I don't really understand it," Ellie answered. "It's another thing about the US I don't think I'll ever get used to."

"That's cause you're a girl," Nick said. "Girls aren't supposed to like football."

"On the contrary," Ezra answered. "I know several women who are avid football fans, Nathan's girlfriend Rain for example…." He saw Chris shudder. The team leader had almost lost his new flat screen TV during the last game because the woman had been upset with a call. Nathan had managed to grab the chip bowl out of her hand at the last minute.

"There's a big game this afternoon," Chris said. "The broncos are playing the….

"New Your Giants," Nick interrupted. "IF they win, they'll be at the top of the division." A sudden thought seemed to occur to him. "Are you guys going to be here to watch it with me?"

"I'll be here," Chris stated, "and I'd love to watch it with you." Ezra could see that his boss meant the statement. Despite his obvious suspicions of Ellie the previous evening, he could see Chris lightening up and starting to enjoy the little family that was under his supervision. "We'll see if we can try and get your sister to like it too."

"Sounds good, Nick said happily. "What about you Ezra?"

Before Ezra could open his mouth, Chris interrupted him.

"Unfortunately, Ezra ahs to go to a meeting with Vin all day," Chris said. Ezra was confused for only a brief second.. Then he realized that if was going to a meeting with Vin than it must have something to do with the DEA case and Misha. Nick looked like he wanted to ask another question, but a look from Ellie made him close his mouth. There was an awkward silence in the room.

"Ezra, I need your help carrying something in from the shed. Do you think you can help me?" Ellie asked sweetly. Chris and Ezra both knew what the look on her face met.

"Go help her Ezra," Chris said. Ezra knew that this was his boss's way of giving him permission to talk freely with Ellie away from Nick's ears. He followed Ellie out to the front porch, surprised by the cold air. He was at least shielded a little bit with his clothes, but Ellie's light pajamas did not provide her with insulation. She didn't seem to care.

"I want to know everything that you know about my uncle," she stated.

"Honestly Ellie, most of what I know comes from you," he answered.

"Than what's with this meeting this afternoon?" She asked accusingly.

"It has to do with the DEA's case against your uncle. I'm sure they just want to know what Vin and I found out last night." He paused. "I promise you that I will try and learn the information that they've collected on him. I promise I will tell you what I learn."

She laughed haughty. Ezra was surprised and slightly hurt.

"Promises mean nothing to me," she answered with a sneer, her Russian accent becoming more pronounced. "I've had many people promise me things and then have never followed through. I've been too trusting too many times."

Ezra took a deep breath.

"I'm not one of those people Ellie," he said quietly. "You aren't alone in this anymore. You can trust me." She didn't respond right away and he gave her a moment for the words to sink in. She seemed lost in her own thoughts. Her body shuddered. He wasn't sure if had been caused by the cold or her memories. She looked at him with a pained expression.

"I'm sorry Ezra," she said. "You have been a gentleman since I've met you," she paused. "I want to trust you, its just that…." She reached out and grabbed his hand. He leaned in closer, feeling his chest tighten.

"What?" he asked. He felt slightly lightheaded.

"BEEP! BEEP!"

The sound of the car horn interrupted the moment. Ellie withdrew her hand quickly in embarrassment. Ezra looked angrily towards the street. A familiar truck was parked right behind his car and Chris's truck.

The window rolled down and Vin stuck his head out.

"Whatca kids up to?" He asked, with a mischievous smile. Ezra fought hard against saying something he might regret.

"Good Morning Ellie," Vin stated enthusiastically. The door to the house opened and Chris and Nick walked out. "Good morning Nick."

"Hi Vin," Nick greeted eagerly.

"You're almost a half an hour late," Chris growled glancing at his wrist. "You are never going to make the meeting at the office on time. Remember that we are having guests…." He said glancing at Nick, not wanting to reveal too much.

"Oh relax Cowboy," Vin stated. "I'll get us there in plenty of time."

"Oh dear God," Ezra groaned. The look on his face made Nick laugh. "The last time I drove with you at high speeds, we almost ended up at the bottom of a cliff."

"Hey! It's not my fault the road sign fell down and…

"I believe I will drive us to the office," Ezra said firmly. Vin shrugged his shoulders.

"Suit yourself," he stated turning off the car. He got out and walked over to where the four of them were standing. He ruffled Nick's hair causing the teen to swat his hand away.

"Get going," Chris ordered. " Travis will have my a…." He stopped when he saw Nick look up at him. "won't be happy if you're late."

"Good Bye Nick, Good Bye Ellie. Thank you for a pleasant evening and I look forward to seeing you soon." He bowed slightly before turning.

"Ezra, "Ellie stated hesitantly. Ezra turned around to face her.

"IF you are still interested in going out for dinner sometime…."

"How does tomorrow night sound?" the words spilled out of Ezra's mouth so fast that it surprised even himself.

"Umm well," Ellie said, clearly caught off guard. "I'll have to check. It's a school night and…."

"We don't have school on Tuesday Ellie," Nick stated. "The teachers are going to a conference or something."

"I'll have to make sure that Nick is….

"Hey Vin, don't you and JD and Buck have an extra ticket to that Avalanche game on Monday night?" Chris asked Vin. It took Ezra a second to comprehend what Chris was doing. He knew that Vin, JD, Buck and Chris all had season tickets to the professional hockey team's games. Then it dawned on him. Apparently, Vin realized what Chris was doing as well.

"Yeah, actually we do." He looked at Ellie. "How would you feel about letting us take Nick to a hockey game on Monday?"

"Really? A real NHL game?" He looked up at his sister with a desperate look on in his eyes. "Please Ellie. Please, Please.." He grabbed her hand. "I promise I won't complain about doing my homework and I'll clean the house and I'll…"

"Fine," Ellie stated with a laugh. "You can go!"

"Yes!" Nick said enthusiastically.

"Someone will be watching you tomorrow too, but we'll leave your house around seven tomorrow okay?" Vin asked. Nick nodded his head.

"And I will come for you around that time as well if it suits you," Ezra said, looking hesitantly at Ellie. "I will make reservations at a fine French restaurant that I know of."

"Okay," Ellie stated. Ezra was pleased to see the blush that made her face look so pretty had returned.

"Now get going before I throw you in that car myself," Chris growled.

Ezra mouthed a thank you to Chris. Chris winked at him. A million thoughts were running through his head. He had to call and make the reservation. Did you have a suit that was properly dry cleaned? Should he bring flowers or…."

"Your step is awfully bouncy there Ez." Vin laughed.

"Oh Shut up," Ezra answered.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

JD Dunne sat outside the school in an old beat up car. Hi eyes scanned the street behind the school. Human surveillance techniques had been among the skills he had needed to learn when he had made the transfer from the IT division in Boston. He had laughed when Buck had first said that being able to use your own set of his eyes and judge what was happening in front of you were among the most important skills in law enforcement. How could a set of human eyes replace the wonderful tools of technology? After spending time with Team Seven, he had realized the truth behind Buck's words.

After a lot of practice and few small mishaps, Chris now trusted JD to do surveillance missions alone. JD refused to let his boss down. Right now, his attention was focused on a tall lean blond man who was hanging around the outside of the school gate. He had been on the street for the last hour. Maybe it was nothing, but JD wasn't going to take any chances. Not when Nick's life was possibly in danger. The blond man was always in his sites as he continued to look up and down the street for anything out of the ordinary. The only time he had stopped his scan were the few times he had had to blow his nose, the last remaining traces of his weekend flu bug.

A few minutes later, the bell inside the school started to ring. The school yard turned into a chaotic scene as middle school aged students piled out of the school and filled the concrete court. JF watched for the familiar head of dark hair, not quite sure how he was going to find Nick. The kids all looked the same. Nathan had dropped Nick off at school that morning, but the teen knew to look for JD. A few seconds later, he saw Nick walking down the steps with a few kids he recognized from the hockey team. Nick began looking around the street. JD was about to get out of the car and wave, but he saw the blond man walk into the schoolyard heading straight for Nick.

JD felt his blood run cold and his senses turn on to high alert. The lawman and protector had come alive inside of him. He slowly got out of the car, his eyes never leaving Nick. He reached slowly for the gun on his hip. He was afraid to draw it too quickly and make a scene. He didn't know what this strange man was capable of or if he had weapon of his own. If this man really was a threat, Nick's life was not the only one in danger. He thought about the schoolyard full of kids and knew he was responsible for them right now as well. JD felt the hair on the back of his neck rise as he slowly walked towards Nick. He was at the front of the gate, when the blond man patted Nick on the shoulder and walked away. He brushed past JD, not knowing how close JD had been to shooting him. For a brief second, JD thought about arresting the man, but knew it was a bad idea. It was not a crime to talk to a kid. He sighed angrily as he watched the man walk down the street and out of sight.

"Hey JD," a voice behind him greeted enthusiastically. JD turned around to see Nick standing right behind him.

"Who was that man?" JD asked sharply.

"Ummm," Nick stuttered, clearly caught off guard by JD's tone. "I don't know."

"What did he say to you?" JD pushed.

"He said he was the dad of some kid who plays hockey," Nick answered. "He said that he wanted to tell me that he's seen me play and that I'm really good." The kid paused and a look of horror spread over his face. "Does he have something to do with Uncle MIsha?"

JD could have kicked himself. He forgot that Nick was used to having to watch his back and that he would know when something was not normal.

"He knew my name," Nick panicked. "Does that mean…."

"Nawww," JD interrupted, forcing a cheerful tone in his voice. "I'm probably just overreacting. You are a really good hockey player kid, of course people are going to notice." He playfully punched the teen lightly on the shoulder. "Come on, let's get you home."

They walked towards the car and got in. JD made sure he kept the conversation cheerful and upbeat as he drove to Ellie and Nick's home. It seemed to be working, because he saw Nick start to relax. He discreetly looked in the rearview mirror every few minutes to make sure they were not being followed.

When he pulled in front of the house, it looked like no one was home.

"Isn't your sister usually home when you get done with school?" JD asked, again trying to keep the tension out of his voice.

"She said she was going to take advantage of the free babysitters and go shopping when she got done with work," Nick responded, getting out of the car. They walked towards the house. JD let Nick open the door with his own set of keys, but he placed his hand near his hip, just in case. JD put a hand on Nick's shoulder after he opened the door and looked inside before allowing the kid to enter.

"You know, it's the rules," JD laughed, rolling his eyes. Nick laughed too and walked inside. He plopped down the couch. JD walked into each of the rooms making sure everything appeared to be normal. Nick eyed him nervously.

"You got anything to snack on this house?" JD asked. "I'm kind of hungry."

"Ellie usually makes sandwiches before I start doing my homework," Nick responded. "You want me to make you one too?"

"Sounds great," JD responded. "I'm going to step outside and make a phone call. Like I said, I've got rules I got to follow. If I break them, Chris can get pretty angry."

"Ellie's the same way," Nick said as he walked into the kitchen.

JD was glad to see that Nick sense that anything was wrong. He walked outside towards the car. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

"What's up JD?" Chris answered when he answered his cell phone, forcing his eyes away from the computer file had been reading. He knew right away something was up when JD began to talk frantically. It sounded like the young man was speaking a foreign language. When JD slowed down and explained, Chris grew concerned.

"You're sure there's no one around the house right now?" he asked, although he trusted JD's initial assessment. "Okay, I want you to call the conference room number in a few minutes. This is something I want everyone to hear. Give us a little time to get over there." He hung open the phone and walked over to open his office door. "Conference room now," he barked with no explanation. He walked back over to the computer and the file.

"Well you sure didn't tell us the whole story this weekend Ellie," he said to himself. Although he believed what Ellie had told them at the bar on Saturday, he had sensed there was more to the story than what she had told them. How did just a poor victim manage to keep herself and her brother hidden for so long against one of the world's most notorious criminals? Why was Misha risking so much to find the two of them? He thought about the way she had twisted out of Ezra's grasp. He had only seen people seriously trained in martial arts be able to do something like that. He had talked to the agents who working on the DEA case, who had put him in connection with an INTERPOL agent. The agent had just emailed over this file.

"Well Ms. Lebanovska," he said to himself, using the feminine form of the last name. 'It would appear that you are not as helpless as you would like us to believe." He closed the file and walked through the already empty bullpen into the conference room. JD's voice echoed through the room to Vin, Nathan, Ezra and Buck. Josiah had been assigned to watching Ellie for the afternoon.

The conference room had been equipped with some kind of phone lone and speakers. JD had tried explaining it to him once how it all worked, but had given up about half way through the conversation.

"Tell them what you just told me JD," Chris said, taking his seat at the table.

"I already did," JD answered. "I don't know maybe I'm overreacting. Maybe the guy really just was an interested parent. Something just didn't feel right. Was there anything else I should have done?"

"Your gut instinct has saved our asses quite a few times JD," Vin stated. "You're right, something just doesn't seem right."

"But you couldn't have arrested him," Buck stated. "There was nothing else you could have done. You're sure Nick has never seen the guy before?"

"He said that he didn't," JD's voice responded. 'He said that…."

"JD, can you describe what he looked like again," Nathan said. The man had a file folder open on the table and was flipping through pages.

"Tall, really skinny, blond hair….I don't know. He looked pretty normal. Definitely not Russian."

Nathan held up a picture for everyone else to see. It was a prison photo of a man who matched JD's description perfectly.

"Who is that?" Buck asked.

"I don't know," Nathan responded. 'There's nothing in here, but the picture."

"Ezra. do you still have the notes from our meeting on Sunday?" Vin asked. "Agent Conally described the men she thought were working with Lebanov."

"Yes, but where are yours?" Ezra answered. Vin just raised an eyebrow. Vin's notes were legendary for being incomplete and unreadable even by the sharpshooter himself. Ezra's notes, on the other hand, were meticulously neat and complete. "Hold on,' he sighed. "I'll go get them." He returned a few seconds later with a notebook.

"It would appear our mystery blond man may very likely be Tom Gibbons," Ezra said reading from his notes as he sat back down. "Known money launderer from San Francisco and supposive accomplice to one Misha Lebanov."

"So he knows Ellie and Nick are here," JD stated quietly. Chris could just picture JD looking down the street and expecting to see the drug lord walking towards him." "What do we do now?"

"Well, first we need to get Ellie and Nick into a safe house," Nathan responded. "Their safety has to come first."

"She's not going to go willingly," Ezra stated. They all turned to look at him. "The only reason she agreed to the current situation is she still pretty much has control of her situation. We take her to a safehouse, she's going to lose all that."

"But if it's for her own safety…." Buck started to say.

"Ezra's right," Chris interrupted.. "Hiding them away is the worst thing we could. He found them once, he's going to do it again,'" he paused. "We're going to end this cat and mouse game she's been forced to play now."

"How are we going to…." JD started to say. Buck had been watching Chris closely.

"You're going to use Ellie and Nick as bait to draw him out aren't you?" he stated.

"I don't think describing Ellie as bait is quite an accurate description," Ezra stated. "She's taken care of herself and her brother this long. Don't underestimate her own abilities." Chris looked at Ezra and thought about the file. Ezra stared back at him.

Chris realized that Ezra knew more about the woman than he was letting on. He didn't know how much Ezra knew, but he should have known that if he had sensed that something wasn't right, Ezra definitely would have.

"But we can't keep her in the dark about our plans," Ezra stated.

"We are going to tell her what we are planning," he paused. "I think she may be able to help us." Ezra looked at him in surprise, than nodded his head. Ezra now knew that his boss was onto the woman as well.

"What about tonight?" Vin asked.

"Things are going to continue on as planned," Chris answered. "I think the three of you are more than capable of watching after one kid," he said referring to JD, Vin and Buck. "Ezra, you are going to tell Ellie everything tonight."

"Not exactly what I was planning for a dinner conversation," Ezra sighed, "but alright."

"Somebody needs to call Josiah and tell him what's going on," Nathan said. "JD said that he and Ellie are at the mall." He got up and left the room.

"Making herself all beautiful for you Pard," Buck said, hitting him in the shoulder. "Are you going to be okay there by yourself for the next few hours JD? We can Josiah if he can come back or one of us can come out…"

"I'm fine," JD answered quickly with just a hint of a whine in his voice.

"We never thought otherwise," Chris reassured, glaring at Buck. "Just keep us posted and let us know if anything comes up."

"No problem," JD answered. "I'm hanging up now."

"He shouldn't be there all by himself," Buck grumbled.

"You got to let him grow up sometime Bucklin," Vin said, rolling his eyes.

"I still don't like it," Buck grumbled.

"Requesting permission to leave early to prepare myself for the evening," Ezra stated. Chris glanced at his watch.

"It's only three-thirty Ezra."

"I realize that, but since this evening has turned out to be more than just a dinner date, I will need the extra time to mentally prepare…."

"Just get out of here," Chris sighed, dismissing Ezra with a wave of his hand. Ezra got out of his chair.

"Gentlemen," he said to Buck and Vin before he walked towards the door. Chris reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Buck, Vin, I need to talk to Ezra alone for a second." Both men gave him a quizzical look, but left the office without a word.

"I'm assuming you found out the true identity of the lovely Ms. Gordon," Ezra stated, after Vin had closed the door.

"There's a whole INTERPOL file on her," Chris stated, "It seems like there are several European countries that are very interested in talking to her about illegal activities that occurred within their borders."

"Has she worked with the KGB?" Ezra asked.

"It sure seems that way," Chris answered.

"I haven't been able to do my own research, but I suspected as much. The signs were clearly there."

"It looks like that….." Chris started to say, but Ezra held up his hand.

"Please stop there," Ezra stated. "I don't want to know anymore."

"Ezra," Chris protested. "This woman was a…."

"The key emphasis is on the word was," Ezra interrupted. "I would rather hear the truth from her and I think she's beginning to trust me enough to tell me soon."

"And what if she's working for her uncle and we are all just part of her game?" Chris asked.

"We've seen her Chris and nobody can fake the emotions we have seen in the last few days. Whatever she was, she clearly is not that anymore." he paused. "And since she is not in this office in handcuffs, I'm assuming you think the same as well."

Chris was about to respond, but Ezra's statement stopped him. He knew his friend was right.

"Watch your back," he stated. "This woman is….."

"I am well aware of what MS. Gordan's….ummm ….capabilities might be," Ezra stated.

"Ezra…" Chris warned.

"I understand what my responsibilities as an ATF agent on an investigation are," Ezra said solemnly, as he walked out the door. The statement put Chris as ease. "But an ATF agent is also only a man who has his own responsibilities to a beautiful woman as well."

Chris dodged out the door and walking to yell at Ezra, but the door leading to the hallway had already slammed shut. He snarled under his breath.

"What was that about?" Vin asked from his desk.

For a second, Chris thought about telling his friends about Ellie and the file, but decided against it. He would give Ezra his chance to find out the truth. Ezra clearly trusted the woman, so he would too. Ezra had been right, The Ellie Gordon did not match up with the merciless Russian agent he had read about in the file.

"Just Ezra being Ezra," he responded.

"I'll tell you what," Buck said leaning back in his chair. "Ezra sure knows how to pick his women."

"He may have actually found one he can't handle this time," Vin joked.

Chris realized how true Vin's words might actually be.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"You keep brushing off your suit, your suit like that, you're going to put a hole in it," Buck joked as they got out of the car in front of the Gordon house.

"Oh shut up," Ezra growled, adjusting the bouquet of flowers in his hands.

"Where did you get the flowers?" Buck asked, as they continued to walk up the sidewalk.

"A little flower shop down the street from my house," Ezra answered. "I think she did a nice job with the arrangement, wouldn't you say?"

"Sure," Buck scoffed. 'If you like that kind of thing."

"What do you mean?" Ezra asked, stopping dead in his tracks.

"Don't know many women who expect flowers on the first date anymore," Buck responded. When I go out on a date, the lucky lady is just happy that…" He was expecting a snide comment from Ezra. He stopped talking when none came. He was surprised to see the forlorn look on Ezra's face.

"The flowers are beautiful and Ellie will love them," he said quickly. "It doesn't matter how tough a girl is, flowers will always make her melt." He patted Ezra on the shoulder. "It's just that I would go broke if I had to buy flowers for every girl that I went out with. Maybe the third or the fourth….Are you even listening to me Ezra?

Ezra had been staring at the flowers, but snapped his head around when he heard his name.

"What?" he asked. Buck rolled his eyes.

"I never thought I would see the day when Ezra Standish was nervous for a date. Hell, it's like you're going to prom or something. Let me guess, you've got sweaty palms too," he laughed.

"I do not," Ezra answered indignantly. "I am fine. I'm…."

"Then snap out of it and start acting like that charming asshole that we all know and love," Buck ordered.

"is this supposed to e a pep talk?" Ezra asked. The two men had reached the front door.

"As close as you're going to get," Buck stated. He hit Ezra lightly on the back. "Cause if you screw this up, I'm next in line." Ezra glared at him. 'That look!' Buck exclaimed. "Use that whenever another guy looks at Ellie when you're out tonight. It will make her feel all protected and shit."

"All protected and shit?" Ezra said, rolling his eyes. "Good Lord, I can't believe I am taking dating advise from you."

"Any time Pard," Buck answered.

The door to the house swung open. Nick was standing in the doorway.

"You going to stand out there all night in the cold or would you like to come inside?" He asked. His eyes got big when he saw the flowers, but he didn't say anything. When they moved into the light of house, both men could see that Nick was wearing a new Avalanche jersey.

"Nice," Buck commented. "You're all set for the game." They nodded hello to JD who was sitting on the couch.

"Elle bought it for me today," Nick explained. "She said it was a reward for doing so well in school this last quarter and she wanted me to have it for tonight."

"Speaking of your sister," Ezra asked. "Where is she?"

"She took like five hours ago," Nick said, rolling his eyes, "and she hasn't left her room yet.

"It's been a while," JD laughed. "But it hasn't been that long."

The door to the bedroom opened. A silence fell over the four males as Ellie walked into the room.

"Wow," Nick whispered. Ezra couldn't agree more and fought to keep his jaw closed.

She was wearing a dark hunter green dress that hugged her athletic curves and fell just below her knees. Ezra couldn't tell if was the color of the dress or the make-up that made her green eyes shine even more than normal. She must have straightened her hair. The shiny strands fell just below her shoulders.

It took Ezra a moment to catch his breath. He realized that JD and Buck were staring as well. Ellie, realizing that she was the center of attention, blushed and looked down at her feet. It was the same blush that had first attracted Ezra. He was at a loss for words. A sharp pain rose through his right foot. It took him a moment to realize that Buck had stepped on it.

"You look lovely," he spat out, in a voice he didn't recognize.

"Th..thank you," Ellie stuttered slightly. 'You look nice as well." Ezra was glad to see that she looked as nervous as he felt.

JD and Nick looked between the two, waiting for more. Buck rolled his eyes.

"Are those for me?" Ellie asked

"These are for you," Ezra said holding up the flowers. They both laughed nervously when they said the words at the same time.

"Oh good lord," He heard Buck say under his breath.

"I'll go put them in some water and be right back," Ellie stated. She took the flowers from Ezra and disappeared into the kitchen.

"Remember what I said about the charming asshole?" Buck whispered in his ear. Ellie came out of the kitchen a few seconds later. "It's time he makes an appearance NOW!"

Ellie walked back into the living room.

"Well, would you look at the time?" Buck said. "We'd better get going to the game guys. Vin's waiting for us and the traffic is always crazy. Let's go boys." He motioned for Nick and JD to follow him as he walked out the door. "You kids have a good time," he called over his shoulder. JD and Nick grabbed their coats.

"Be good,' Ellie said to Nick. "And have fun."

"I will," Nick answered, before walking out the door.

"Ellie, remember what Vin said earlier if you decide that….."

"Thanks JD, I'll remember," Ellie said quickly. The blush had returned to her cheeks. JD walked out the door, closing it behind him.

Ezra was alone in the room with Ellie. Both stood a few feet away from each other, the couch separating them. Ezra forced himself to take a deep breath.

"I meant it earlier when I said that you looked very pretty," he stated. He weighed his next words carefully, wondering if he was revealing too much about himself. He decided it was worth the risk.

"I apologize for my earlier behavior. It's been a whole since I've done this, well I mean for real and not job related."

The big and genuine smile that lit up Ellie's face proved to him that he had made the right decision.

"Me too," Ellie answered. "Is this dress appropriate?" She asked. "I wasn't sure what to wear for tonight."

Ezra looked at the dress and the neckline. It was high enough to be modest, but low enough to be tantalizing. "It's perfect," he answered.

"I'm much better at buying hockey jerseys," she laughed. "Shall we go?"

Ezra glanced at his watch.

"We have a while," he answered.

"But our reservation is in forty-five minutes!" she protested.

"I have a reputation to keep at this particular fine establishment my dear." Ezra answered, sitting down on the couch. "And I must always be fashionably late."

"Well I can interest you in a pre dinner drink than?" she asked, laughing.

"Another glass of vodka perhaps?" he asked, cringing slightly.

"Actually I have something special for the occasion," Ellie answered, walking into the kitchen. She returned with a wine bottle and two glasses. Ezra could see that it was his favorite brand of Pinot noir. The wine was not cheap. Ellie had bought a new dress and Nick a new jersey. She had obviously spend quite a bit of money on the evening. Ezra was touched.

"It would appear that the liquor connoisseur also knows her wines," Ezra stated, sliding over making room for her on the couch.

"I asked Nathan what you liked," she answered honestly. He watched for a few seconds as she struggled to put the opener into the cork. "Obviously not quite an expert," she stated embarrassingly.

'Allow me," he answered, taking the bottle opener out of her hand. A few turns later, the cork popped out. He filled the two glasses half full and handed one to Ellie.

"Na zdorovie, "he said, holding up his glass.

"Na zdorovie "she answered, clinking her glass against his. They both made eye contact before taking a sip

"So…." she stated, lifting her legs up onto the couch and sliding them to the side of her torso. Ezra couldn't help but notice the hemline of her dress slide up. He looked up and saw that she had noticed him looking. For a second, he was embarrassed. Her relaxed smile put him at ease. "Tell me. Is it a habit of you and your team to help every damsel in distress that you come across, or are Nick and I special?"

Ezra began recounting funny antidotes about his team's misadventures helping members of the opposite sex. Their conversation was silly and irrelevant, but Ezra couldn't remember a time when he had this much fun in the company of a woman. The conversation got easier and easier with each glass of wine.

He had just finished recounting the time when Vin had helped an elderly woman back to her assisted living apartment and then having her lock him in with three of her other friends when he noticed the bottle was almost empty. He glanced at his watch. When his vision cleared enough to read the numbers, he groaned.

"What's wrong?" Ellie asked, the smile disappearing from her face. Her cheeks were slightly red from the alcohol.

"I'm afraid we are way past being fashionably late for our dinner reservation. It's past ten o clock." He stated. 'I'm sorry Ellie, I should have been watching the time better."

"It's my fault as much as yours," Ellie answered. "The bottle of wine was supposed to be for after dinner in case you decided to come back and…." A mischievous smile spread across her face.

"Oh really?" Ezra answered. He leaned back onto the couch. He could tell that the alcohol was starting to have an effect on him. He was feeling slightly warm despite the fact he had discarded his suit coat a while ago. "Just what exactly are you implying?"

"Well you know when JD mentioned that Vin offered something before he left? Ellie asked. Ezra nodded his head.

"Well Vin offered to let Nick spend the night at his house," she stated. Ezra could hear the nervousness and apprehension in her voice.

"Well, Vin does live in a rough part of Denver. But his apartment is actually quite safe and Vin will take care of….." he stopped when he realized that Ellie's nervousness was not caused by her brother's safety. "Ahh, I see," he answered. "Well….." Ezra's stomach started to rumble before he could finish his sentence. His stomach started to rumble.

"I didn't eat much today either," Ellie admitted. "Usually, I can hold my alcohol better than this."

"Well my suggestion is that we first find something to eat. Otherwise, I don't think either one of us will feel like doing anything else this evening," he stated, winking at Ellie. The look on her face clearly revealed that he she understood his secret meaning. "Although, I don't think either one of us will safely be able to drive anywhere."

:"Well, it's not a fancy French Bistro or anything, but there's a little restaurant a few blocks down the street that makes a mean pepperoni pizza."

Ezra's thought about the processed meat and all the grease that the pizza probably contained and his stomach started to rumble in happiness. He was surprised. Normally such a thought would have make his stomach ill. But then downing half a bottle of wine easily messed with one's body functions.

"It sounds wonderful," he stated. "And let me guess, you just happen to know the owner?"

"How did you know?' she asked, standing up. Her knees buckled slightly. Ezra caught her under the arms and helped her steady herself.

"Lucky guess," he stated. "Shall we?"


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**

Ezra was walking so close to Ellie, he could feel her arm swinging against his leg. The pizza had been surprisingly good and he felt himself sobering up. The walk back the house was crisp, but enjoyable. He reached out for her gloved hand, relieved when she returned the pressure. He felt his heart lurch. Not for the first time that night, he was at a loss for words.

"The stars are bright tonight," she commented, looking up at the sky. "If you think they are bright now," Ezra answered. "You should see what they look like in the mountains. I have witnessed some spectacular displays around many a campfire." Ellie stopped walked and gave him a skeptical look.

"I never took you for one who enjoys camping," she stated.

"Usually I despise the event, sleeping on the dirt, deplorable canned foods, and waging constant combat against insects as large as a canine usually is not my cup of tea. Most of the time, I am forced on these so called outdoor excursions. I must admit though that I have had several enjoyable experiences," he paused. "Please do not tell anyone else that. I feel that it might damage my image."

Ellie chuckled softly.

"What about you my dear? Do you enjoy the great outdoors?" Ezra asked, glad that there was now a train of conversation to follow.

"Camping really isn't a big recreational activity in Russia, especially when you grow up in Moscow."

Ezra noticed in the dimly lit street, that the woman got a faraway look in her eyes.

"Although when I was little, my father would take me to a little cabin in Siberia every year. The stars were always bright on the shore of Baikal. People thought he was crazy for doing that. Why take a little girl in the wilderness like that?"

Ezra recognized the faraway look in her eyes and knew she was remembering something fondly. Despite what other people said, Ellie did not think her father was crazy at all.

"He sounds like a pretty special man," Ezra stated. "To be so out of control of your life like that…"

Ezra was surprised when he felt Ellie pull her hand out of his and turned her back to him with a sharp intake of breath. She took a few steps forward before turning around. There was a look of remorse on her face.

"I apologize Ellie, I may have overstepped my…" Ezra began to say, but Ellie held up her hand.

"No Ezra, it was a simple question. I shouldn't have reacted the way I did, it's just that…, my father…I can't…"The pain and stress was evident on the young woman's face. Ezra thought he could see tears beginning to form in her eyes.

Ezra walked up to her. Even before he knew what happened, he had Ellie wrapped in his arms. She was shaking hard.

"Shhhh," he soothed, holding her tight and rocking her. His whole body started tingling as he felt her body close to his. She pulled away slightly, not out of his grasp, but just enough so she could look at him in the face. He opened his mouth to apologize once again. He closed it quickly when he felt her lips on his. At first he drew his head back in surprise, but less than a split second later he happily obliged, reaching his hands up to cradle her head. Ezra wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted; only that he wished Ellie had waited longer to pull away. She took a few surprised steps backwards.

"Wow," she stated, trying to catch her breath.

"My sentiments exactly," Ezra stated, slightly out of breath. His breathing returned to normal, but he couldn't stop his heart from racing. He took a step towards her, fully prepared to take her in his arms again.

Ellie stepped back and shook her head.

"No, I haven't been completely honest with you before this goes too far…" she started to say.

"I figured that you weren't," he stated with a sigh. He knew that this point in the evening was inevitable. He just wished that it wouldn't have come so soon.

He stopped when he heard the sound of a loud engine. He watched as a large black Buick pulled in front of them on the sidewalk. The window rolled down quickly revealing impressive looking guns in the driver's side and back window.

Ezra's thoughts began racing immediately. His first thought was to get in front of Ellie. His second was what criminal had escaped and was now after him. He was caught completely off guard when a familiar brunette stuck his head out of the window.

"Ellie!" Nick yelled.

During Ezra's moment of surprise, Ellie had stepped in front of him. He watched as her hand slid to her hip. He had seen the action preformed a million times, but coming from the young woman only confused him more. Why the hell would Ellie be reaching for a gun?

"I believe you are looking for this?" a heavily Russian accent voice came from the driver's side window. It was the face of man that had hunted Team Seven for the last few weeks. His brown hair was speckled with grey and his faced was lined with wrinkles, but Ezra recognized that he shared the same jaw line and facial features as the woman in front of him.. He was dangling a handgun in his fingers.

"You left this at your apartment, Моя прекрасная племянница" He stated.

Ezra's Russian was a little rusty, but he was able to translate the simple statement. He was caught off the guard. The man in the car had just called Ellie his niece.

"Let him go Misha," Ellie stated, her eyes growing cold. Her fists clenched at her side.

"Is this a boyfriend, my flower? The boys were always scared of you back home, even though you were always very pretty," the man continued.

"I said let him go Uncle," Ellie growled, her voice rising. The man continued as if he hadn't heard the woman.

"I have been searching for you for a long time Elena. You were very hard to find. It's nice to see that you have not grown rusty unlike your father.

"Maybe you should have told him that before you blew Katiya and him up!"

Ezra heard the crack in her voice. He felt completely useless, God, he wished that he hadn't left his gun locked up in his glove compartment. He had nothing that could be used for protection, except his cell phone. Maybe he could… He discreetly hit the buttons to unlock his phone. The large coat pocket masked his actions. From the outside, it just looked like he was trying to warm his hands. He hit the first number on his speed dial, knowing exactly who it would call.

"Elena, Elena," the man in the car stated shaking his head. "Do you really think I wanted to kill my only brother? He was becoming a liability for everyone. When he started feeding information to Interpol, my employers got nervous and decided he must be taken care of. You left before I could explain myself."

"Maybe because I didn't want to get Nick and myself killed as well," her voice was rising.

"Alexander needed to die Elena. Katiya's death was unfortunate, but necessary. You, on the other hand are very valuable to my employers. In fact they need you."

"Who are your employers this time Misha, the mob or the government?"

"Does it matter?" the man answered.

"_Oh Lord," _Ezra thought. _"What the hell have I gotten myself involved in?" _If Misha had gotten Nick, what had happened to his friends. The conversation he was hearing slipped into Russian, and it was too fast for him to thought about the cell phone is his pocket, praying it would pick up at least some of the conversation.

After a little while, Ellie seemed to remember that he was there because she slipped back into English.

"I will never work for you again," she stated firmly.

"_Well this just keeps getting more and more confusing," _Ezra thought to himself.

"Elena, come back to Russia with me and I promise Nick will be safe."

This caused a complete change in the woman. Before she had been cold and her whole body language revealed a hard resolve. Ezra watched her melt at the mention of her younger brother.

"How can you be sure?' Ellie answered.

"I'm sure the money that's sitting in your family's account would help sweeten the deal," Misha answered.

Ezra was about to put his hand on Ellie's shoulder, when a grunt was heard inside the car The action knocked the gun out of the man in the backseat and sent the gun skidding across the pavement. Ezra lunged for it, as Ellie's uncle turned his head. Nobody noticed as Nick opened the door and flew out.

"Nicolai!" Ellie yelled, running towards her brother. She grabbed him and tackled him to the ground as a shot erupted from the gun in her uncle's hand.

Ezra realized that the gun hadn't been the only thing that had fallen out of the car.

"Oh lord," he breathed to himself as he rushed towards the body.

He had discovered what had happened to his friend. Buck's body was lying next to him. Ezra could feel warm liquid on his hand as he reached for his friend's side.

Another deafening shot rang out. Ezra looked up to see Ellie stood up, blocking Nick as she pushed him and told him to run.

Even in the dim light, Ezra could see that Misha's gun was pointed straight at her. The undercover agent fired a shot with the gun that flown out of the car window. He knew that he had missed his target, but the shot had its intended result. Misha's gun withdrew into the safety of the car.

"Ellie, Run!" He yelled.

"But… "she protested.

"Go get Nick!" Ezra yelled, desperately feeling around Buck's side for where the blood was coming from.

Ellie gave him one pleading look before sprinting off into the darkness.

Ezra had been so absorbed in what was happening in front of him, he wasn't paying attention to his back. He wasn't aware of shadow that had crept up behind him. He didn't see the large hand that hit him the back of the neck. He was completely unaware as his limp body was picked up and stuffed into the car.

"What the hell?" Chris breathed heavily as he raced to the spot where he had just seen the car speed away. His attention was soon diverted from the car, though, when he almost tripped over the body still lying in the street.

"Nathan!" He bellowed, dropping to his own knees. His hands were soon full of blood as he unknowingly felt the same spots that Ezra had to stop the flow of blood. "Come on Pard, don't do this to me!" He pleaded.

Nathan had joined him also dropping to his knees. He was the first to find the bullet wound on the right side. He grabbed Chris's hands and put them on the source of the bleeding. Chris was aware that other bodies were now standing behind him.

Nathan and Chris has been at the bar having a drink when he had received the strange phone call from Ezra. He had been on edge on all evening, He knew something was very wrong when he heard the muffled Russian and the gunshot. He had instantly called a trace on Ezra's phone. While he and Nathan were driving to Ezra's location, he tried to get ahold of the rest of his team. Josiah had answered right away. Vin had confirmed that he was with JD and they were driving to an ice cream parlor to meet Buck and Nick. Buck hadn't answered. Chris's worst fears were confirmed when he got the scene of the crime.

"Nathan?" He asked nervously.

Nathan placed a bloody hand on Buck's neck.

"He's still got a pulse," Nathan stated tersely. Chris let out a small sigh of relief, but it was little comfort. He could feel the blood slowly seeping though his fingers. He knew his friend needed help very fast.

"Ambulance is on its way," Vin stated. Chris took a quick glance behind him to see Vin and Josiah standing behind him, both wearing the same expression he probably had on his face.

"Buck! Oh God Buck!"

Chris looked up to see JD racing towards them. Josiah was able to intercept him before he reached Buck's prone form.

"Buck!" he screamed again.

"JD, we're doing the best we can for him right now. We need to wait for the ambulance, right now." JD struggled against Josiah's hold for a few seconds, but went limp as he sobbed quietly in Josiah's shoulder.

"Where's Ezra?" Vin asked.

At first Chris was going to snap at his friend for worrying about Ezra while Buck was probably dying on the ground, but then he remembered that it had been Ezra's strange phone call that had summoned them all here in the first place.

"Go look for him," he stated.

Vin nodded his head. He gave Buck one more worried glance before sprinting into the darkness.

"Watch your back," Chris called, not sure if Vin heard him or not.

JD must have gotten control of himself, because he was now kneeling next to Chris, holding on to Buck's lifeless hand.

"You gotta make it Buck, Come on, you can't leave like this!"

"He's a fighter JD. He'll pull through." Chris tried to sound confident for the kid's sake, but he heard his own voice choke.

A few seconds later, an ambulance pulled up alongside the street. Two trim blond EMTs race out with a stretcher. Chris felt his hands gently, but firmly pulled off his friend. He scooted back, pulling JD with him.

"In a matter of minutes, Buck was loaded up on the litter and placed inside the ambulance. One EMT headed for the driver's seat. The other jumped in next to Buck.

"I've got room back here for two Nathan," he said. Without hesitation, Nathan jumped into the vehicle. Chris took a step forward, and then stopped when he saw JD. The kid was staring at the ambulance. Chris pushed him forward.

"Go," he stated simply. "He needs you now."

JD gave him an appreciative glance before sprinting up and into the ambulance. The doors slammed closed and the ambulance tore down the street, sirens blaring. Chris looked at Josiah.

"Get to the hospital," Chris stated. "I'm going after Vin and Ezra.'

"Be careful Chris," Josiah stated. "I've got a really bad feeling about where this is going."

Chris nodded his head before he took off in the direction he had seen Vin go. He ran about half a mile when he saw a familiar face standing by a tree. Ellie was standing with a cell phone on her ear. The agent was about to race forward when he felt a hand on his ankle. He looked down to see Vin crouched behind a bush. The sniper held a finger to his lips. Chris crouched down next to his friend.

"Ezra?" he whispered.

Vin shook his head and pointed.

"Is she speaking Russian?" he asked.

Chris focused his attention on the young woman and the strange language she was speaking. Ellie was indeed speaking people thought Ezra and Josiah were the language experts on the team. Few realized that Chris had a pretty firm grasp of a few languages himself. Like the rest of his team, he had considered himself almost fluent in Spanish. His Russian was a little rusty, because he hadn't used it in a while. But it has been crucial when he was in Special Forces training in the 1980's during the Soviet crisis.

"She's talking to someone named Misha," Chris told Vin quietly. He had a hard time following because Ellie was speaking quietly and very quickly. Despite the tone and pace, he was able to pick up key phrases.

"She says she'll get the money and her passport," Chris translated. "Just don't hurt her brother…." He paused still listening. He flew out his hiding spot with his gun drawn when he heard one word…_Standish._

"Put your hands up right now!" He bellowed.

The woman was caught so off guard she yelped and the cell phone went flying out her hands. It smashed on the ground.

"No!" she yelled, turning towards him. "That was my only contact with him!"

Chris reached up, fully prepared for the arms that were flying his way. He grabbed hold of the young woman's arms and pulled them behind her back. Remembering how easily she had broken out of Ezra's grasp at the bar, he quickly slid his handcuffs out his pocket and slapped them onto her wrists.

"You've got a lot to answer for young lady," Chris growled. "If either of my men die because of you…."

"Chris…" Vin started to say, but one look from his friend made him stop.

"Take her to the office and see what you can get out of her," he pushed the woman towards Vin. "I'm going to the hospital."

She stumbled, but was able to keep her balance.

Chris thought about the INTERPOL file he had read and regretted he hadn't done anything with the information earlier. He would not make the same mistake again.

"Tanner, the cuffs stay on!"


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Ezra's first thought when he awoke was that his head really hurt. He reached out to rub his forehead, but was surprised when his hands wouldn't move from behind his back. It took a minute for him to realize that his hands were cuffed. He desperately tried to pull his hands out of the plastiCuffs, but it soon became evident he was fighting a losing battle.

"I already tried to get them off for you," a familiar voice stated. "They won't come off."

Ezra turned his head to let his eyes focus in on his location. He was sitting on the concrete ground. The only light coming into the cell was from a small window with bars on it. The source of the voice was huddled in a corner. The events of the last few hours came rushing back. Nick was sporting a bloody lip and looked like he was about ready to cry.

"Ezra, are they going to kill us?" the teen's voice quivered. Nick had been forced to grow up quickly because of the life he had been forced to live, but at this moment he seemed much younger.

"Come here and sit next to me Nick," Ezra stated. He was glad to see that the youth was not handcuffed. Nick scooted over until he was right next to undercover agent.

"Do you know what happened?" Ezra asked.

"I was running really fast and could hear Ellie yelling behind me. I remember something hitting me in the head and then waking up in this cell." A sudden thought seemed to come across the boy's mind and his face filled with horror.

"Buck!" he yelled. "They shot Buck!"

The same thought had crossed Ezra's mind. Although he was very concerned about his friend, there was nothing he could do for him here in this cell. He thought about his cellphone call and prayed that his friends had gotten there on time.

"Shhh Nick," Ezra soothed. He could feel the boy shaking next to him and wished his hands were free to put around him. The door to the cell opened. Ezra had to squint his eyes against the sudden burst of light.

"Well, I see that both of you are awake now." Ezra watched as the man from the car walked into the cell. It was Ellie and Nick's uncle.

"Hello Nikolai, My you have grown. You were just a little boy the last time I saw you, but you are growing into a fine man. You've got the Lebedev chin but you have your mother's eyes," Misha said in a soft voice as he took a step towards the teen.

Nick leaned hard into Ezra, his body shaking more. Although he was obviously scared, Ezra was surprised to see a familiar look spread across the boy's face.

"Stay away from me!" he hissed through clenched teeth. Ezra wondered if Nick realized how much he looked and sounded like his sister.

Misha frowned at the boy. The man spoke very good English, but it was heavily accented. Misha turned to look at Ezra.

"The Lebedevs have always had a talent for finding their prey." He looked at Nick and a hard look crossed his face. "and weak stomachs to never finish the job ."

"If you mean my dad not wanting to kill innocent people then you're right!" Nick answered. Ezra was surprised at the youth's tenacity. He could feel the shaking in the boy stop.

"So that bitch you call a sister has turned you against me too I see," Misha said frowning. "Pity, I could have used you."

He turned his head and thought a moment. A sick smile spread across her fact.

"You realize I did most of your sister's training right? I watched her kill many of these innocent people you talk about."

"You're a liar!" Nick yelled. "Ellie would never…."

"I suppose she hasn't told you about what actually happened when the Bratva sent her to get the Opium out of Northern Afghanistan then?"

Nick covered his ears.

Ezra turned to look at Misha. He recognized the word. Bratva was the Russian slang word for Brotherhood. The general term given to any group involved in the Russian crime syndicate.

"I remember a village that was being particular difficult. I watched her set a grenade outside the tents and…."

"That's enough!" Ezra stated, seeing the tears streaming down Nick's face as he tried to prevent his uncle's voice from entering his ears.

Misha glared at Ezra, but he did stop talking.

"I don't know what you have planned Mr. Lebedev, but surely it can be achieved without the use of the boy. Do whatever you wish with me, but leave the boy alone."

Misha just laughed.

"Believe me Mr. Standish, the boy does serve a purpose. My lovely niece that you seem quite fond of has money and information that rightly belong to me. Little Nicolai is going to help me get them."

"Like I said, I trained pretty little Elena since she was twenty years old. She has the same weak spot as her father and that's family. A very bad quality in a KGB officer I might add. All I have to is threaten the boy here, and she'll give me whatever I want."

"He's your nephew!" Ezra growled.

"I already said family was not important to me," Misha laughed.

Ezra said something under his breath just loud enough for Misha to hear. He was rewarded with slap in the face that sent his head flying backwards into the brick wall. Ezra winced when his skull connected with the concrete.

"I would shoot your right now Standish, if I didn't need you!" Misha growled.

He slammed the door behind him, casting the room into darkness once again. It took Ezra a moment to let the pain subside. He was seeing spots even in the darkness.

"Are you alright?" Nick asked, edging closer to him.

"Quite alright, I assure you," Ezra answered, knowing that he wasn't completely telling the truth.

"What did you say to him?" Nick asked.

"Something that I am sure your sister would not want me to repeat to you," Ezra answered.

"It was in Russian, I heard that much," Nick answered. "It must have been really bad, because you sure made Misha angry."

"That was my intended result," Ezra answered. "It was in the Mat dialect."

"Really?" Nick asked. "Nobody in my family would let me talk like that."

'It's a good think too. No gentlemen would use such vulgarity except in the most extreme circumstances," Ezra answered. The Mat dialect was considered so vulgar to most Russians; it was actually considered a crime if someone heard you speak it in public.

"Could you teach me some?" Nick asked. "You know, only to use in extreme circumstances?"

Ezra couldn't prevent the smile from spreading across his face. He would have found it more amusing if not for the circumstance he found himself in.

"Perhaps," Ezra answered, letting his tone of voice get more serious. "But first you need to tell me everything about you and your sister. I'm tired of only getting part of the story."

Chris sprinted up the steps taking two, sometimes three at a time. His emotions were running raw as he walked into the office. Vin was talking on the phone when he walked in. He hung it up as soon as he saw Chris.

"He's out of surgery and in stable condition," Chris stated. He had called earlier to him know Buck's condition, but he knew Vin would wouldn't relax until he heard it in person.

Vin breathed a loud sigh of relief.

"Where's Ellie?" Chris asked.

"She's in the break room. I figured that…."

"Is she talking?" Chris asked, interrupting his friend.

"Go easy on her Pard, she's in rough shape. She tripped when she was running and hit her head pretty hard on the sidewalk ."

"I'll think about going easy when I know that Ezra is safe," Chris growled, not waiting for Vin's response. "I should have arrested her the minute I got that damn file."

"What file?" Vin asked. Chris walked into his office, grabbed the file and tossed it on Vin's desk before walking into the conference room.

The sudden movement had scared Ellie. Vin had obviously disobeyed his orders and uncuffed her. She knocked over the coffee cup sitting in front of her. The hot liquid burned her hands and made her wince.

Chris had planned what he was going to say to the young woman while driving back, but he had forgotten as soon as he looked at her. Her eyes were bloodshot from tears she had cried, her skin was very pale and her hands were shaking. A raw blue patch of bruised skin that he assumed was from the fall Vin had mentioned.

"Agent Larabee…." Ellie started to say.

He felt his anger subsiding. Chris didn't wait for her to finish, He walked over and grabbed two rags. He handed one to her and wiped up the spilled coffee on the table with the other.

"Thank you," she stated. "Buck?" she asked

"He's going to be okay," Chris stated with a small smile. He walked over to the coffee pot and looked inside.

"Vin make this?" he asked. Ellie nodded her head. "No wonder it burned your hands so bad," he stated. "I'll make us some better stuff."

"Did you find Ez…" she continued to push.

."Still missing," he stated with no emotion.

"Then my brother is still…" Ellie tried to ask her voice cracking as tears threatened to fall again.

Chris felt his heart wretch at the sound of pure desperation in her voice. He put the Folgers can down and sat down in the chair next to Ellie. He grabbed hold of her hands.

"We'll find Nick and Ezra, Ellie."

She didn't pull her hands away, but looked at him in surprise.

"Why am I not on my way to a prison cell right now? I'm assuming you already know who I really am. "

"Why do you assume that?" he asked.

"Because I could see that you never really believed the whole story I gave you. I could see your concern about Ezra. I know all about honorable men like Agent Larabee. You will stop at nothing to protect those you care about and to find the truth." She paused. "You all remind me of my father. "

"I think that…." Chris started to say but he was interrupted when Vin walked into the room. He was carrying the file in his hand. He tossed it on the table, looking furious.

"Are you are one of the most wanted terrorists in Europe, that you are responsible for the deaths of at least twenty prominent politicians and destroyed an Afghani village for not agreeing to distribute poppies…."

"I did not blow up that village!" she yelled. Her outburst surprised both the men. It took them a few seconds to recover.

"But you don't deny anything else?" Chris asked. Ellie's eyes lowered and she clutched her hands together.

"Did you work for your uncle?" Chris asked gently. "Did he threaten your family like he did your father?"

"He didn't need too," Ellie answered. "In fact it didn't take much convincing." She paused. She looked at the two agents with a look of sad resolve. "Look if you want to interrogate me, I'm not going to be a problem. Hell, I'll slap those cuffs back on myself, but please find my little brother first."

"That's our main priority Ellie," Chris answered, "but I have a feeling your history is going prove critical to finding them both." He paused and took her silence for acquiescence

"When you started working for your uncle was it for the KGB?"

"Yes," Ellie answered simply.

"Why?' Vin asked. "Why would do you do that after everything that happened to your Dad?"

"Why does any young person join the military join the military or do something stupid against the wishes of their parents?" Ellie asked, rubbing a hand through her hair. "I was young, stupid and hot headed. Misha talked about the former glory of Russia, of what it once was and what I could help it be. I had traveled through Europe growing up. I saw the successes and wealth of the western world. I didn't understand why my own motherland couldn't be similar. My uncle taught me to blame it on the villains of the UK, the US, and everyone who stood in the way of Russia's glory. He also blamed it on men like my father who were too cowardly to take the necessary risks. " Her voice lowered in volume. "I know it doesn't make sense, but…."

Chris held up his hand for her to stop. It did make sense and it made him sick. He had seen too many men corrupt the impressionable minds of youth. Even his own special forces was not blameless. How else could a leader convince a unit of young men into situations that meant almost certain death?

He opened the file.

"Scotland yard wants to talk to you about the suspected poisoning deaths of three Russian men who were feeding information to the British government in London."

"That was during my freshman year of college," Ellie answered. "You could call it my test run. My mission was to befriend the men and build up a relationship. You know bond with them over fond memories of Mother Russia and all that bullshit. I reported their movements back to my uncle or one of the men that was working for him."

"And how did you poison them?" Vin asked.

"I lured them to the pub, but it wasn't me who put the poison into their drinks. Actually, I never saw the man who did it."

'It says that the agents who were killed were embezzling money in London and were only cooperating with the Brits so they wouldn't be arrested."

"I didn't know anything about that," Ellie answered. "All I was told that they had betrayed Russia. At the time, that was enough for me."

"Tell me about Dragen Popanov," Chris stated, looking down at the file.

"Who?" Vin asked. "Wait, was he that Serbian guy who was assassinated in broad daylight in Athens a few years ago? Whoever took that shot was one hell of a good…." He stopped talking and looked at Ellie in amazement. "Was that you?"

"There are some certain perks to being a woman with my particular skillset," She answered grimly. "You tend to go unnoticed."

"What connection did he have to hurting Russia?"

"Some of my uncle's friends shipped him weapons so he could engage in his ethnic censing efforts," Ellie answered. "Popanov never paid them back."

Chris glanced down at the files. He knew that there was a long list of daring assassinations. Despite his evil intentions, Chris had to admit that Misha had turned Ellie into an impressive weapon. He wasn't condoning Ellie's actions, but the men and women she had "taken care of" were far from innocent. He looked her in the eyes and she lowered them in shame.

The cold hearted Elena Lebaneva that was described in the file did not match the Ellie Gordon he had come to know. Ellie Gordon was completely devoted to her brother and adored by her community. She was trying to redeem herself. More importantly, Ezra trusted her. He trusted his friend's judgment more than any black and white dossier. He was almost ready to forgive and forget, except for…

"And what about Angalizi?" Vin asked. His friend got the to the question before he did. Ellie closed her eyes and sighed.

"A sin I will answer for the rest of my life," She whispered quietly.

"I thought you said that you had nothing to do with it," Vin stated coolly.

"I didn't bomb the town," Ellie answered, "But it was my fault those families died." Chris and Vin looked at her.

"The Russian drug rings and even some ministers in the government have been involved in production and trade of cocaine for a long time now. Afghanistan supplied a cheap supply poppies. Two years ago, I began second guessing what I had been doing. It was the first time I had killed a man in his own home and was actually close enough to watch the life leave his eyes. I had been forced to hide in the closet while his teenaged son found his body. I only saw Nick's face as I watched the boy cry over his father's body. Whatever crimes this man had committed, they weren't bad enough prevent his son from loving him. I began to wonder why I thought I had the power to decide who lived or died." A faraway look crossed her eyes as if she wasn't aware she was even in the room.

"This was around the time the time that my uncle heard of the little village of Angalizi. Members of the Chinese crime ring were paying the town a pretty high price for their poppies. My uncle wanted those poppies, but he offered them a much lower rate. They refused. He tried to threaten them. But it still didn't work. He told me that I should destroy the village to make a statement to the other villages. If Angalizi was wiped off the map, it would send a message to the other villages. I went to the village and began setting the fuses for the bombs and…." She stopped talking and seemed lost in her own thoughts."

Vin looked like he was about to say something, but Chris cut him off with a look. He knew that they just need to sit and wait…."

"I couldn't go through with it," she answered in a shaky voice. "Corrupted politicians were one thing, but little kids…." She didn't finish her sentence. "I went home to Russia and begged for my father's forgiveness. I cried like a little girl in his arms, completely lost and confused." She wrapped her arms around herself as if mimicking the long ago embrace. She leaned forward. "Instead of being ashamed, he told me that he was proud of me. He was proud that I had finally seen the errors of my ways." She paused and hugged herself tighter. "I thought that I had been hiding my sins and my work from my father all those years, but he had known everything. He told me he had an escape plan for many years. We would all be moving to France as soon I had seen the error of my way. Nick was already in boarding school in Norway and we would disappear with the large bank accounts he had created. I went to Norway a few days later and he told me that me the he and my stepmother would join us later, except that…." She stopped and her voice choked and she was unable to finish.

"They died in the fire set by Misha," Chris finished quietly. Ellie nodded her head and dropped her head onto her arms. Her whole body shook as she fought back tears.

"I know that he knew my uncle was coming after me. He stayed behind to give me a headstart," She raised her head and looked at Chris and Vin. "I know that he and Katiya sacrificed themselves for us. I should have been the one to stay behind while he and Katiya went to Nick! I didn't deserve for him to die for me!"

This time she was unable to stop the tears that flowed from her eyes. She buried her face in her hands and said something that sounded like a prayer in Russian. He and Vin were both caught off guard. After reading the file, Vin had appeared skeptical during the questioning, but Chris watched his face fill with pity. Vin reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but Ellie pulled away.

"Please….don't."

She forced herself to take a deep breath and regained some of her composure.

"How is any of this relevant to finding my brother and Ezra?" she asked. Her eyes narrowed, but their no fight in her voice.

"But that village was still blown up," Chris stated.

"That was my uncle," he stated. "He blew it up himself and told the rest of the world it was me who did it. In the Russian secret circles, he told everyone who mattered that I hadn't followed orders. There's a Russian death warrant on my head. I wanted to turn myself over to a European country, but I had to keep Nick safe from Misha…." She started to cry again. "And I can't even do that."

When Vin tried to comfort her this time, he was much more forceful. He grabbed her hands when she tried to pull away and forced her to look at him.

"You said your father was an honorable man?" he asked harshly.

"Yes," Ellie answered.

"And you believe his judgments were always right?"

"Always," she answered.

"Then why are you any different?" Vin asked.

"That's not…." Ellie started to say, but Vin interrupted her.

"You kept Nick safe for two years Ellie," Vin's voice softened only slightly. "You've got a chance to rescue him now. You can't answer always if you fail him now."

Ellie's tears slowly stopped falling and she got a pensive look on her face. Chris looked at Vin gratefully. Vin didn't say usually say much, but when he did it was always spot-on.

"You're not going to arrest me?" she asked after a few minutes.

"Should I?" Chris asked.

"It's the law," She sighed. "And I'm tired of living on the wrong side of it," she said. Then she looked up, "but I need to get Nick back and take care of Misha once and for all."

"We'll talk about this once we all get Nick and Ezra back," Chris answered. He held out his hand. Ellie shook it. A cold look overtook the grief. He was glad that he was not Misha Lebanov.

"My grandfather had met Khrushchev during the war when he was a soldier and Khrushchev served as commissar. The two became very good friends. My grandfather was killed. Khrushchev survived. After the war, he hired my grandmother as secretary and he took special interest in her sons, my father and uncle. He almost became like a father to them. Khrushchev's own son had been supposedly shot down during the war."

"Supposedly?" Vin asked.

"There are rumors that the son defected to the Germans and Stalin had him shot when they caught him despite Khrushchev's pleas," Chris stated, knowing the story. "But there was never any proof."

"Proof has a funny way of disappearing in Russia," Ellie said darkly. "Whatever happened, Khrushchev took an instant liking to the boys and got them involved in the security organization. They both instantly rose through the ranks and were involved in counter intelligence during the cold war. My dad often boasted about how he had served in France while still feeding information the Kremlin."

"Were they responsible for arresting civilians as well," Chris asked rather coldly. He knew that the original and real purpose of the KGB had been to root out and oppress political dissent.

"Not at first," Ellie stated. "Khrushchev was somewhat lax on freedom of speech. Not many realize that Khrushchev, although still a ruthless dictator had began making some positive reforms .Besides my father and Misha served with the First Chief Directorate which was in charge of espionage. All that changed when Yuri Andropov was put in charge. He began bringing back many of Stalin's old policies. Authors began disappearing, artists died under unusual circumstances. Hell, if he had stayed in power any longer, I wouldn't have been surprised if the Gulags started showing up again."

Both Vin and Chris heard the hostility in her words. She paused.

"At this point my father was looking for ways to get out of the KGB. The signs of the Soviet collapse were all over and he wanted nothing more than move to the West. You see while in France he had a met a beautiful Romanian woman who had defected to Paris, got her pregnant, and was now in love her andwith his baby daughter. This was not the case with my uncle. He quickly rose through the ranks and was known for his ruthlessness. When I was older, I heard stories that he never married a woman because he was in love with the KGB.

She paused.

"My father was planning to move to France with his family to get away, but little did know how his world would come toppling down. You see my mother had been a plot by Misha to get my father to stay. As soon as my father threatened to move, she ran to Misha and deposited me with him. I was basically held hostage as my father was forced to continue to work for the KGB.

"What?" Vin and Chris asked, dumfounded.

"What kind of man would take a child and…" Chris thought it had been Adam…He shook his head to get rid of the thought.

"You mean to say that your mother…." Vin asked.

"She never really cared about me," Ellie stated, sadness evident in her voice. "She lied to my father and I for four years and as soon as Misha asked, she turned me over and took her money. I haven't seen or heard from her since." She paused.

"This is doing nothing to helping find Ezra or my brother. Please you should be out there right now instead of listening to me!"

"Ellie, I have a feeling that your family history is going to be key to finding your brother and Ezra. Please…" Chris didn't need to finish his sentence. Ellie kept talking.

"I lived with Misha while my father was forced to work in Hungry. I was returned with a promise that I would be taken again no matter where he tried to run."

"We didn't really have much to worry about once my father returned from working in the Eastern Block. The Communist government was a mess and they spent more time working on its survival then spying on other countries. My father even met and fell in love with another woman, Katiya. She became the mother I never had. Not long after Nick was born."

The telephone in the bullpen started to ring,

"I'll be right back," Vin said getting up.

Ellie shivered, but Chris wasn't sure it was from the cold.

"You want some coffee?" he asked.

.

"Please," she stated.

Chris got up and poured two cups of coffee.

"Would you like something to eat?" he asked, looking around to see what was in the cupboards.

Ellie shook her head.

"When was the last time you ate?" Chris asked.A small smile crept across the Ellie's face.

"I had a sandwich at the coffee shop with Ezra a while ago."

"I thought you were supposed to be eating at that fancy French restaurant," Chris said.

"We missed the dinner reservation," Ellie answered.

Chris chuckled as he grabbed a box of crackers and set it down in front Ellie.

"You should eat something, This isn't much, but it will prevent from fainting on us."


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

"Damn," Chris swore while he talked on the phone. "Was anyone hurt?...Alright, I want you to stay and see if you can find anything else out."

Chris put his cellphone down on the table angrily. He took a deep breath and looked at Ellie. "You're house was on fire by the time Nathan could get there. They got the fire out but the house was destroyed."

She bit her lips and continued to look at Chris. That particular piece of news did not seem to bother her.

"There wasn't anyone inside," Chris answered. "Why would they go back to the house?"

"That's where I kept the password and ATM card for a bank account."

"Your uncle is going through a lot of risk to kill you Ellie. "It seems like an awfully risky plan." Josiah stated.

Josiah and Nathan had left the hospital about an hour ago. JD had stayed behind to keep a constant vigil on his friend. Nathan went to see what the fire was about.

"With his resources and allies, nothing is too risky for Misha," Ellie answered. "But he does have another reason," she acknowledged. "There are substantial sums in those accounts."

"Now you sound like Ezra," Chris scoffed. "Just how much are in them?"

"Almost ten million US dollars between the two of us," she answered. The others stared at her for a second.

"And you're living in low income housing?" Vin asked, then reality hit him. "But then living the lifestyle of people with ten million dollars is a whole lot easier to track."

"Fake passports and uprooting your whole lives every few months isn't cheap either," she answered. "And I had no idea how long we would have to live like that."

"And does Nick have access to those accounts?" Chris asked.

"He knew that the information he needed was in those accounts. I'm sure Misha used him to gain access into the house and safe. After he had them, he set fire to the place." She shivered. "I can't think of him with Misha right now…."

"Ezra's with him," Josiah said. "He'll take care of Nick,' he tried to say enthusiastically, but his voice fell flat. Everyone's eyes lowered.

"We might as well address the elephant in the room now," Vin stated. "We've been stepping around it this whole meeting."

"What's that?" Ellie asked.

"That Ezra might already be dead," Vin said grimly.

Chris glared at Vin and then looked at Ellie.

"She knows the life as well as any of us Pard," Vin answered. "I'm sure she's figured it already anyway."

"That while it's obvious why he would keep Nick alive, there is no apparent reason why he would do so for Ezra?" Ellie asked. "Yeah I've been thinking about all night. Well morning now I guess." They all glanced out the window. The sun was just beginning to rise over the city.

"We haven't heard that anything bad has happened to him yet which means that he's still alive in my book," Josiah answered. "And doing his damndest to get him and Nick out of this mess."

"I already put a BOLO out on the car," Vin answered. "Maybe we'll get lucky."

"What about the money?" Chris answered. "Can't we figure out where he's going to withdraw it."

"He knows that you have me and that I've probably told you about the money by now," Ellie stated. "He'll withdraw the money far away from here. I wouldn't doubt that he'll do it out of the country. Besides, Nick's not going to give those numbers over easily. He's got no reason to…." She stopped. The same idea seemed to hit the other men at the same time.

"He's using Ezra to push Nick into giving him those bank account numbers."

"Josiah, I want you call the Denver airport and all the small airports within a five hour radius. Tell them to keep an eye out for anyone looking like Ezra, Nick or Misha." Josiah nodded his head and left the conference room.

"Misha won't be found unless he wants to be," Ellie answered. "It's a trait my family has."

"He found you," Chris stated. "And now it's time for you to return the favor. Think, what is Misha's weakness?"

Ellie stopped to think a moment.

"Greed," she answered. "But I have yet to see it cause him too many problems."

"Well its better than nothing," Josiah answered. "At least we know he's not infallible. Does anyone have any ideas?"

Ezra listened to Misha tell him about his niece's past. He had suspected that Ellie was not the innocent victim she had tried to portray herself as, but he would never have imagined that she had been a trained assassin for the KGB. What on earth had he gotten himself into? Once again, his mother would be disappointed with him. He had let his heart lead him instead of his head. He looked over at Nick who was shuddering. His lack of argument told Ezra that Misha's story was true. He saw the tears forming in the boy's eyes. He knew he was exactly where he needed to be.

He had to get Nick and himself out of this situation fast.

He couldn't fathom why he was still alive. What was the purpose of continuing to hold him hostage? He knew that his time was probably short. He thought about Ellie and how she would be distraught with worry over her little brother. His attention shifted to Misha and he searched for a weakness he could exploit, something that he could use to help Nick and himself escape.

He saw Misha's eyes light up with greed when he mentioned the bank accounts. He added that to what he already knew about the Russian. Obviously the man was ruthless and would take down anything or anyone that stood in his way. There was no loyalty towards anything but money.

"So what do you think of your little girlfriend now?" Misha asked when he had finished his story. "Tell me that you can still feel sorry for the murderous little bitch." Ezra forced his face to remain blank. He needed time to think. Any reaction might hurt his chances for escape.

That was not the case for Nick. The boy shot to his feet and sprinted towards the older man.

"That's not true. You are lying!" The boy cried as he plowed into Misha. Misha tottered on his feet for a second. If Nick had been a little bigger, he would have knocked the man over. Instead, Misha was able to regain his balance. He grabbed the boy's arms and twisted them behind his back hard. Nick cried out in pain.

Misha forced Nick around so Ezra was looking in his face. Nick's face was full of embarrassment and pain.

"This bothers you, does it not Agent? His sister is beyond my grasp at the minute, but I could easily kill the boy. You will do what exactly what I want or I will kill him." He stroked the boy's head. "And you will do the same Nicolai. If you don't listen to me, I will kill your friend here."

Ezra took a deep breath. He saw what Misha was trying to do. He was trying to use their loyalty against each other. Misha had been successful using it with family before. Ezra's eyes narrowed into slits. It was not going to happen again. His advantage became obvious.

"Do what you want with the kid. I don't care," he spat between his teeth. "He's of no use to me anymore."

The look of pleasure on Misha's face turned to one of astonishment.

"I've only been playing his sister and him all along to turn her over to INTERPOL to get the reward money," he answered.

"What?" Nick whimpered. Ezra refused to look down, afraid that he might not be able to maintain his façade.

"Explain yourself," Misha demanded in a dangerously low voice. "I must warn you Agent Standish that…."

"Oh stop threatening me," Ezra said offhanded. "I've suspected who your niece was for a long time. I remember hearing about her at a conference we attended a few months ago. You really thought I had a thing for her? Whoa, I'm sorry but that girl is a little too crazy for me. I usually go for the blonde demur types."

"You're lying," Misha stated quietly. "I'll put a bullet in your head right…."

"If you check into the records of my office, you will see that a request was put in for her file a few days ago."

"But your team has been protecting her for the last few days. You've been trying to find out about me," Misha protested, but his voice was not as harsh as it had been before.

"Alas, my team is much more chivalrous than me. My plan was to scoop her up and call Europe before any of them really knew what happened. Unfortunately, I had to play along so as not to arise suspicion."

"Why?" Misha asked simply.

"Because three countries are offering six figure rewards, France might even go up to a million for her."

"And your team? You are a federal agent. Prize money does not interest you."

"Who told you that?" Ezra laughed in disbelief. "If you really don't believe that I value money over the common good, you should take a look at my record. I believe a particular case in Atlanta will provide all the information you need."

It took a few seconds for Misha to respond. Ezra could see that he was thinking. That was a good sign. He had stopped denying him right away.

"And your man that was shot? You have no ill will towards me because of that?"

"Well I can't say I'm happy about it," Ezra answered. "Buck had some good qualities to him and its unfortunate he had to die, but he was an agent and knew the risks. I'll recall him fondly."

"You son of a bitch!" Nick exclaimed, trying to free himself. "What kind of man are you? I trusted you! Ellie trusted you!"

Ezra had to bite his lip when he looked at Nick. He watched Nick's expression chance from shock to disbelief to hurt to anger in a matter of seconds. He hated himself for what he was doing to the boy, but this was exactly the reaction he needed. It seemed to convince Misha that Ezra's story was true

"Telling me the truth doesn't seem to be helping your situation though," Misha stated. "I still have to kill you even now. You know too much and I can't guarantee that you are not going to turn against me."

"Quite the contrary," Ezra answered. "Since you've left me alone, I've been trying to work out a plan that will help both of us."

"Hmm, what is that? You have my full attention Standish."

Ezra fought the smile that threatened to appear on his lips. He knew that he had the Russian mobster now.

"Well clearly we have both have two very important goals. I need to escape out of here and you clearly want to get your hands on that money as fast you can. I've worked with men like you before Mr. Lebanov and I'm assuming that you were planning on withdrawing or transferring that money when you were far away from Denver."

"You are correct," MIsha answered.

"Usually that would be a wise idea, but I can assure you that my team will be freezing those accounts as soon as they are able. They will not be available to you for very much longer."

Anger and worry flashed through the Russian's eyes. Ezra saw how he could use this to his advantage. His mind was working on overdrive, coming up with his plan as he talked. He knew that his and Nick's lives depended on his quick thinking and composure. "I suggest you get that money out as soon as you can."

"But the cops will then know my location," Misha stated. 'That is a ridiculous…."

"Not if you let me go," Ezra stated simply. Misha looked at him in surprise.

"Come again?" he asked.

"Look my team is going to be looking for me. They trust me and think that I will not leave the boy behind. As soon as they see me, they will have the whole city chasing me. This will leave you free to access the bank codes and do whatever you need with the money."

"And what about the girl?"

"My team already has her. I'll make sure she ends up in France. Once I have my reward, you are free to do with her as you want. I'm sure a well-placed friend of yours could make an easy shot."

"And what will you do once your team discovers what you have done?"

"I'll have enough money to take care of myself for a while once I turn in your niece. After that, I try to find some new and profitable employment."

"I hate you!" Nick yelled.

Misha looked down at the son fighting in his grasp.

"I suppose I will have to dispose of you once the money has been transferred."

Ezra almost lost his composure right there.

"That would be a loss," he stated calmly. "The boy shows great promise. He is young and still impressionable. Get him away from his sister long enough and I'm sure he will be a good assistant for you in years to come."

"I'll never work for you! I'll die first!" Nick growled.

"SO melodramatic," Ezra said shaking his head. He looked up at Misha. "We don't have much time. So what do you think?"

"How do I know that you are not lying to me, that you won't double cross me the second I let you go?" Misha asked.

'You don't," Ezra answered. Misha's eyes narrowed. "But if you want to get that money, this is the best option you have."

"Let me talk to my men about it. I will be right back." He let go of Nick's arms. The boy ran over and kicked Ezra in the gut. He doubled over in pain. Misha shook his head and yelled out something in Russian. He grabbed hold of his nephew again. "I will have one of my men take him from here."

"NO!" Ezra yelled. This caused both Misha and Nick to look at him in surprise. "The boy is too free spirited. Take off my handcuffs and let me deal with him while you consult with your men."

"Just what are you planning on doing to him?" Misha asked.

"I've dealt with some of the most dangerous and violent criminals in the world and have had them crying like babies in a matter of minutes," Ezra answered. "I can assure you that your nephew will do whatever you want when I am done with him."

"And this isn't some kind of game to trick me?" Misha asked.

"Look at Nick right now. Does he look like he's in on some crazy conspiracy?" Ezra asked. Misha looked down at the boy struggling in his arms.

A man appeared in the door way. Misha motioned towards Ezra with his head. The man walked over and cut off Ezra's plastic handcuffs. Nick was soon pushed his way. It took all of Ezra's strength to contain the teen.

"I will talk with my men. You deal with my nephew." MIsha walked out. His guard followed him. Ezra waited until the door was slammed shut.

"Shhhh," he whispered into Nick's ear. "Calm down my young friend."

"Friend?" Nick roared. "How can you say such a thing? You just told my uncle to kill Ellie!"

"I'm trying to save all of our lives right now,' Ezra continued to keep his voice low and calm. "And I'm going to need your help." Nick stopped struggling.

"But you just said….."

"A necessary act to trick your uncle," Ezra stated. "If you calm yourself for a little while, I will explain my plan. If it's not to your satisfaction when I'm finished, you can beat me to your heart's desire."

"I'm listening," Nick stated. Ezra felt him relax and Ezra let him go. Nick didn't make a move towards him.

"Will you do me a favor and cry out in pain?" Ezra asked.

"Why?" Nick asked.

"Because we must maintain our façade and make it seem like I am indeed torturing you."

"Why are talking so funny all of sudden? You never used the big words before," Nick asked.

"Am I?" Ezra laughed slightly, despite the circumstances. "I suppose it's part of the role of the role I'm trying to act out. Will you please scream?"

Nick let out a loud bloodcurdling yell.

"How was that?" he asked.

"Very good," Ezra complimented. "Now listen carefully. There isn't much time to explain. I hate that we are going to have be separated, but…"

"No!" Nick said, terrified. "I can't be alone with…. Please don't make me…" The pleading in Nick's voice tore at the undercover agent's heartstrings.

"I don't want to do this Nick, but we have no other choice. You will need to enter the codes for the bank accounts."

"Why?" Nick stated. "Ellie and I can't live without that money."

"I'm sure your sister cares more about you than the money," Ezra answered. "But you need to withdraw it so my team can trace you and find you.""

"But you said that Chris and the others would freeze the accounts…."

"Normally that's what they would do, but I'm counting on the fact that they realize that's the only way to trace where you are. Your uncle will not have you do it close to Denver unless he's sure that nobody will be able to catch him. Could you scream again for me please?"

Nick screamed loudly.

"You should really try out for a school play," Ezra stated, "You have real talent. Anyway, your uncle wants that money and he wants it bad. I think he believes that distraction I will create will give him enough time to get to it."

"But if they are chasing you, why would they…."

"Because Chris and the others care about your safety as much as mine," Ezra answered. "They will come after both of us," he said much more confidently than he felt. He was banking a lot on the fact that his team would be able to figure out what he was doing. He paused and looked at Nick. "I know that I'm asking a lot you son."

Nick seemed to think about it a moment, then he nodded his head.

"I'll do it," he answered.

"Good boy," Ezra answered with a smile.

"You probably should have one of these," Nick said, pulling two daggers out of his pocket.

"Where did you get those?" Ezra asked in surprise.

"Ellie isn't the only one who is trained," Nick answered. "I know that my uncle keeps lots of weapons on him. A gun would have been too hard to steal off of him, but I don't think he's going to notice the knives."

Ezra beamed and took one of them.

"Well done," Ezra complimented Nick smiled. The door started to open.

"Time to really use those acting skills," Ezra told him. They both hid the knives inside their pants. Nick crumbled himself up in a ball on the ground.

"How's this?" Nick asked.

"Good," Ezra answered, just as Misha walked into the room.

"Hello Mr. Lebanov," Ezra greeted. "I do believe you will not a find a mark on your nephew's body, but he is more than willing to do your bidding now."

"Is that right Nicolai?" Misha asked. Nick didn't respond right way.

"Answer your uncle!" Ezra growled. "Are you going to do everything that he asks from now on?"

Nick nodded his head.

"I'm impressed Agent Standish. This is quite a different boy than the one I left you with you a few minutes ago."

"There is a reason my team had such a high success rate," Ezra answered. "So what did you decide? I don't mean to be rude, but we are running out of team."

"I have decided to go through with your plan," Misha answered. "It is a good one." He tossed a pair of keys on the ground. "I must add my own stipulations. You will take the big black car I was driving before and one of my men will drive it now. I think that will add to the disguise."

Ezra didn't like this addition to his plan, but he plastered a smile on his face.

"A wonderful idea my friend. I'm not sure why I didn't think of that myself." He stood up and took the car keys. "Well I'd best be on my way." Then he paused and turned around. "May I may one other suggestion?"

Misha just stared at him.

"If you are going to withdraw the money or try to transfer the funds, I might suggest doing it from a public location. It will be much harder to trace if by chance someone is watching the account. They will be expecting you to be working from a discrete location. Nobody would expect you do it from a city hall or a library or someplace like that."

Misha didn't respond right away. Ezra bit his lip. Had he pushed his luck too far? He was banking on the fact that Misha did not seem like the type of man that was very technological savvy. Maybe he was wrong.

"That is a good suggestion. I thank you. Technology has not played a very important role in my business dealings. This is one of the few times I will need to rely on it. Once you have your money and are in Europe, you should try to find me. I could use a man like you working for me. I have contacts all over France. They will know how to find me."

"I just might do that," Ezra answered. He held up his hand. "It was pleasure doing business with you Mr. Lebanov, despite the rather unfortunate circumstances."

Misha shook his hand. Ezra walked out the door. His driver followed him. He fought the urge to turn around and look at Nick. He silently prayed that he had just killed the teen.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

"Dammit I hate just sitting here like this," Vin swore. "There has to be something that we can do?"

"I'm all ears if you can think of anything," Chris stated. "I already sent Josiah down to meet Nathan where Buck was shot and there's no sign of where Lebanov could have went. JD's doing whatever magical crap he does on his computer at the hospital and he hasn't come up with anything either."

"I'm sure he'd love to hear you call it magical crap," Vin said with a slight smile.

"No, he'd try to explain it to me and I still wouldn't understand," Chris answered. He looked over at Ellie who was staring out the window. It was almost eight o clock in the morning now and nobody had slept at all. He thought about telling her to try and get some sleep, but he knew better.

"How you doing?" he asked, sitting down next to her. She jumped. Apparently she had been in her own little world.

"I was just thinking about Nick when he was little," she answered. "One time when I was supposed to be watching him, he fell off the playground and broke his arm. He was about five at the time and I swore that I was never going to ever let any harm come to him again."

Chris thought about his own son for a second.

"We can swear we're going to protect them as much as we want, but sometimes the world has other ideas," he answered.

"I can't help but think about if I had turned myself in earlier. Would all this have been prevented?"

"We both know that your uncle would have got him," Chris answered. "You did what you thought was best. That's the only thing anyone can hope to do."

Vin's phone started to ring and he walked out the room.

"I know that I have to answer for the crimes I've committed," Ellie said with a sigh. "But if we find him…."

"When…" Chris stated firmly. "When we find him."

"What's going to happen to him then? He can't go back to Russia, he just…."

"We'll worry about that when we come to it," Chris answered. Honestly, he didn't know either. "Right now we'll just…." He rubbed his hand through his hair. God, he felt tired. He hated being so helpless.

"Chris!" Vin came shooting back into the room. "A state patrol man just spotted Ezra stopping at a gas station about half an hour up on I-39."

"What?" Chris asked, suddenly alert. "How did he…"

"Was Nick with him?" Ellie asked at the same time.

"Apparently the patrol man recognized the license plate at the gas station. A man matching Ezra's description was making a rather big show about going in and buying coffee. He was complaining about the freshness of it." Vin explained.

"Sounds like Ezra," Chris chuckled. Then he stopped. "But why would Misha let him get out of the car like that" Chris asked. "It doesn't make sense."

"I was thinking the same thing," Vin answered. " I asked if the trooper saw anyone else in the car. He said he couldn't tell cause the windows were tinted, but Ezra got in the passenger seat as it was driving away." He paused. "This doesn't feel right."

There was a long pause.

"I have a feeling Ezra is not with Misha," Chris stated. "He's playing some kind of game that he needs us to figure out." He looked out the window. "Dammit Ezra, what do you want me to do?"

"I'm sure that Ezra wouldn't have left Nick unless he was sure he was safe," Vin said glancing over at Ellie.

"I'm sure of it," Ellie answered. Her smile was much more confident than her words. "So what do we do?" she asked looking over at Chris.

"I'm going to send Josiah and Nathan after Ezra. Vin I want you to go too. I want JD to stay at the hospital." He looked over at Ellie. "You and I are going to stay here." He smiled slightly when he saw that she was about to protest. "Like I said, I'm pretty sure Ezra's playing a game. He's got something up his sleeve. Unfortunately, it seems like your uncle is a worthy adversary. I can try to figure out Ezra's mind, but I'm going to need help figuring out your uncle's."

Ellie didn't look entirely convinced, but she didn't argue. Vin got up from his seat.

"Keep me posted about everything," Chris stated. "If the kid is with him….."

"Than our main priority is getting him and Ezra out safe," Vin finished. "Got it." He squeezed Ellie's shoulder gently.

"We're going to get both of them Ellie," Vin stated. "And we're going to take care of Misha once and for all."

"Thank you," she answered. "Be careful."

"Watch your back," Chris stated with a tight smile. It had become the unofficial exchange between the two men before they did anything dangerous.

"Always do," Vin answered with his cocky self-assured smile before disappearing out the door.

"He is a good friend," Ellie stated quietly.

"He's too cocky for his own good sometimes," Chris answered staring at the closed door, "but yeah he's alright."

"Good friends are a nice thing to have," Ellie stated. Chris stared at the woman. He knew the pain and heartache that went with being lonely. He had been lucky. He had committed plenty of sins, but God had granted him forgiveness and a second chance. He vowed silently that he would do the same to help the woman in front of him.

"What do we do now?" Ellie asked, breaking the awkward silence.

"We wait," Chris answered. "I'm going to call JD and then try to scrounge ourselves up something to eat….and don't give any of this I'm not hungry crap. You're going to be no use to me if you are aren't fully alert."

"Well I don't think I'm going to be passing out anytime soon," Ellie laughed. "But I should probably eat something. Are you this demanding to everyone on your team? Wait, I already know the answer."

He turned to give her his famous Larabee glare, but it didn't seem to have any effect. He started rummaging through the cupboard and the fridge.

"There has to be something in here to eat. I usually have a hard time keeping anything in here with JD and Vin around. I swear they would eat a horse if someone brought in here." His voice was muffled as he opened up the freezer door. "Damn you Ezra. Is that all we really have?" He pulled his head out of the freezer and looked at Ellie.

"How do you feel about frozen shrimp for breakfast?"

Ellie chuckled and Chris couldn't help but smile. It was a lighter moment that they both needed. Chris knew it would probably be there last for a long time.

"I really must question you choice of venues to make our grand appearance," Ezra stated taking a sip of his coffee and shuddering. "You really couldn't find a Starbucks or something with at least tolerable libations?"

'Huh?" the driver asked. He was a tall thin man with a dark complexion. He didn't sound Russian, but he was obviously of Slavic decent. Ezra rolled his eyes. Despite being a criminal, Misha Lebanov appeared to have a little class. This was not the case for his hired help.

"Why did we stop at that gas station?" Ezra asked, putting the coffee down.

"Because Misha said that we needed to be at least half an hour away from the city before we stopped," the driver answered. "That gives him time to get the money and get away."

"I see," Ezra answered. "Did anyone see us?"

"I saw a state trooper slow up at the gas station, but I'm not sure if he saw us or not," the driver answered.

"Oh I'm sure he did," Ezra answered. "Nothing gets by those State trooper boys. Believe me I have enough speeding tickets to prove it."

"uh-hah," the man nodded, glancing nervously out the window. Ezra didn't like how twitchy the man was. The man was driving with one hand. His left rarely strayed from his left side. It didn't take a genius to figure out what the man was protecting. A trigger happy driver was the last thing the undercover agent needed on his plate right now.

"So tell me your story," Ezra stated. "How did you end up working for Misha Lebanov?" Maybe if he could get the man talking, he would relax a little bit.

"Not much of a story," the man answered, glancing in the rearview mirror.

"Everyone has a story," Ezra countered, also glancing in the window. "In fact, I…."

He never got the chance to finish his sentence. The sounds of police sirens interrupted him.

"Well this is good news," Ezra stated also looking in the mirror., "We…." Once again, he was cut off. This time is was by the familiar sound of a gun safety being clicked off. He turned to see the driver pointing a gun straight at him.

"What are you doing?" Ezra asked, raising his hands in the air.

"Sorry about this," the man answered. "Misha doesn't like any loose ends. You're a loose end. He told me to take care of you."

"There are cops a hundred yards behind us," Ezra stated between clenched teeth. "Are you really that loyal to Misha Lebenov that you are willing to go to jail for the rest of your life?" In the mirror, he saw men getting out of the cars, but he didn't recognize any of them. He prayed they stayed away. There was a chance he might be able to talk the man down, but not if the cops approached.

"Misha said he will get me out. He has connections even in America," the man stated confidently.

"You said yourself that Misha hates loose ends. After you are in custody, what do you think you are going to become?" Ezra asked. He thought he saw someone that looked like Vin, but he couldn't be sure.

"Come up with your hands up!" A voice called. Even through the megaphone, Ezra recognized Josiah. The voice distracted the man enough for Ezra to reach into his pocket and pull out the knife Nick had given him. He stabbed into the man's right arm still resting on the steering wheel. He heard a wail of pain, but didn't wait. He opened the car door and rolled out. With agility that surprised even himself, he was soon on his feet racing towards the sounds of the sirens.

He heard the distinct sound of two guns being fired before he felt the air of a bullet whizzing past his ear. He glanced up and saw Vin standing a few feet in front of him. His gun was pointed straight ahead and there was a stern look on his face. Ezra turned to see the driver of the car topple out of the front seat onto the ground. When the man hadn't moved for several seconds, Vin lowered his gun. He turned his attention to Ezra.

"You alright Pard?" he asked, concerned. "That bullet came a little too close to your head for my liking." It took Ezra a few seconds to steady his racing heart enough for him to talk. He nodded his head.

"Once again Mr. Tanner, your timing is impeccable," he was finally able to say. Nathan came rushing up. He blanched when he saw the blood on Ezra's sleeve.

"It's not mine," Ezra answered. "It must be from when I stabbed that driver."

"Where did you get a knife?" Nathan asked.

"Nick gave it me," Ezra stated. "He's really quite gifted…" he felt his heart start to race again. The threat on his life and the relief of realizing he was still breathing momentarily made him forget about the events of the past few hours. Questions began racing through his head. He couldn't ask them fast enough.

"Have you found Nick? Buck? Where's Ellie? Have you…."

"Slow down," Nathan stated, putting a hand on Ezra's shoulder. He glanced around and saw Vin looking at the car. It was obvious that Nick and Misha were not with Ezra. He could see the look of discouragement on Vin's face and he knew they needed answers, but first they needed to calm their wired friend down.

"Buck was shot, but the doctor's said he's going to be just fine," Nathan responded. "Ellie's with Chris at the office." Ezra seemed to relax a little, but not much. He exchanged a nervous look with Vin. "We thought that Nick would be with you," he stated quietly.

"You didn't figure out my plan," Ezra lowered his gaze "I thought that maybe…It was the only way...I didn't want to leave him…"

"Nobody said you did," Vin stated. "But what's this plan Ezra? You gotta tell us what you're thinking so we can help." Ezra looked Vin in the eye, but he didn't say anything. They all turned when they heard somebody running towards them. Josiah stopped a few feet in front of him.

"I just talked to Chris on the phone. He thinks they found Misha and Nick. They are about an hour away from here!"

"He figured out my plan?" Ezra asked. Despite the dire circumstances a big smile lit up Josiah's face.

"Yeah he did," the big man chuckled. "He also said to tell you that you are a sneaky son of bitch and don't ever do anything like this again."

Chris and Ellie sat at the table picking at the shrimp, but not really eating in it. Ellie looked out the window intently. The muscles on her face were tight and her shoulder muscles were tense. He recognized the stance and assumed he looked similar. It was the look of someone who was used to action and was about to go crazy because there was nothing to do.

The cellphone on the table started to ring causing both of them to jump. Chris grabbed it and glanced at the caller ID. He shook his head sadly at Ellie. She shrugged her shouldered dejectedly.

"What's up JD?" he asked trying not to let the disappointment come through in his voice. He had to pull the phone away from his ear when all he heard was loud gibberish. "Hold on," he said, rolling his eyes. "Slow down and tell me again."

"Chris, someone tried to access those bank account numbers you gave me!"

"What?" How did you figure that out?" Chris asked in surprise. He saw Ellie jump at his outburst and quickly turned on the speaker phone. He set the phone down on the table.

"Well Buck and I were watching TV for a while. This old nurse came in and told me to turn off my tablet because it was going to mess with the medical equipment. Buck snapped at her and told her to get out. It was kind of a big deal, cause Buck never snaps at a woman, even an old and fat one that…"

"To the point JD!" Chris barked.

"Huh? Oh yeah. Well I hacked into the computer system of that bank that you told me about. I brought up those accounts and was kind of keeping my eye on them. All of a sudden I saw money disappearing from them."

Ellie reached out and unconsciously grabbed Chris's hand. "That has to be Misha!" she said excitedly. "But I don't understand," she shook her head. "He couldn't have gotten very far from Denver in this short amount of time and he wouldn't be so stupid to do it so soon."

"Well the location of the person who is withdrawing the number is supposedly untraceable," JD supplied. "Maybe he thinks we won't be able to find him?"

"So you have no idea where he is?" Ellie asked desperately. "We are so close to having him, but that son of a bitch is going to get away again!'

Chris looked at Ellie and then thought of what JD had just said.

"Why did you say supposedly JD?" he asked. "Are you staying that you can trace Misha Lebanov?"

"They don't call be the fastest hacker in the west for nothing," JD chuckled. "You see I was able to use the server to hack off a network that led to an IP address that opened up a network that I probably shouldn't hve been, but…."

"Again JD, the point?" Chris asked, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"I can't be completely positive that it's Misha Lebanov who withdrew that money, but I know that whoever did it was using a computer at the public library in Collin Springs. That was dumb move in fact, because if he would have used a secure nonpublic network I probably wouldn't have found him so easily."

"Misha was always old school," Ellie stated. "He always hated technology. Still Collin Springs is exactly the opposite direction that Ezra was seen. Why is he not with my brother? I don't understand what's going on here!"

Chris blocked out all other noise. He thought about his undercover agent. He knew that Ezra would never have left Nick alone, not unless there was a good reason for it. He must have seen some weakness in Lebanov that he could exploit if he went off on his own…." Then all of a sudden it hit him.

"That sneaky son of a bitch," he chuckled quietly.

"What?" JD asked. Ellie just looked at him in surprise.

"Ezra knew exactly what he was doing," Chris explained. "He must have convinced Misha that letting him go would distract us enough that we wouldn't be watching the bank accounts. We would be too preoccupied with finding him. Ezra would know that none of us would be stupid enough to stop watching those accounts.

"But how did he…." Ellie started to say.

"I can only imagine what he told your uncle," Chris stated. "But you know how convincing Ezra can be." Chris was amused to see a slight blush cross Ellie's face. Chris's phone stated to vibrate, showing that Josiah was calling. "JD, Josiah's calling. I got to go." He hung up quickly. "What's happening Josiah?" He listened to Josiah talk and a smile spread across his face. "They got Ezra," he said to Ellie. "He's fine." He filled Josiah in on what was happening then hung up the phone.

"Come on," he said to Ellie. "We're all meeting just outside of Collin Springs to decide what to do next."

She looked at him in surprise.

"You want me to come with you?" she asked.

"Don't you want to come?" he asked, caught off guard.

"More than anything," she answered. "But I figured that you couldn't take me because I'm a confessed criminal now and there will be other police involved now I'm sure."

Chris stopped dead in tracks. He hadn't even thought about that. In the excitement, he had forgotten who Ellie really was.

"Look I'm trying to rescue a kidnapped boy and bring in one of the most notorious drug lords in the world. You know that the most about both of them and are the best weapon I have at the moment. You're coming with me missy, other cops be damned."

"Yes Sir," she answered with a smile.

"I'll defend you with every breath I have," he answered. "But if you break my orders, I may not be able to protect you." his voice trailed off.

"I understand," she answered. "I'll listen to you." She added almost as an afterthought.

Chris detected the hint of insincerity in her voice but he didn't push the subject. He knew that she would do whatever possible to rescue her brother, and he didn't blame her.

"Let go catch ourselves a bad guy, shall we?" Chris said, he grinned evilly.


End file.
